Can Steven and Brian sell the sportswear business without selling out?

Stephen Sullivan just couldn’t stomach the idea. He and his partner and friend, Brian Cousins, had spent seven years building Cloudveil, an outdoor sportswear company devoted to hard-core skiers and mountain climbers. And it had been a blast.
Cloudveil, based in Jackson, Wyoming, was the kind of place where the partners designed a prototype garment one day and tested it on the slopes the next. Yet, despite 2004 revenue of about $5 million, the company was cash-strapped, in a never-ending struggle to raise enough money to fuel production.
The best solution, it seemed, would be to sell the business to a larger company with the capital and infrastructure Cloudveil so desperately needed. And that’s what had Sullivan so worried. Selling out, he feared, could mean squandering the brand credibility he and Cousins had created. And that could mean the end of Cloudveil.
The partners, who had both moved to Jackson for its world-class skiing, met in the early 1990s while working in a local ski shop. When they weren’t working, they skied the rugged Teton Mountains. Off the slopes, they dreamed of designing their own line of outdoor apparel. That dream became a reality in early 1997, after Sullivan received a pair of ski pants from a friend who had just returned from the French Alps. Every day for a week, Sullivan wore the lightweight pants on the slopes. Flexible and breathable, yet warm, they were unlike any ski pants he had worn. He set up shop in his cabin and started designing ski apparel using the same soft shell fabric.
Cloudveil’s first line appeared in 13 retail stores nationwide that fall.
From the beginning, Cousins and Sullivan focused on serving Jackson’s hard-core backcountry skiing community. They sponsored ski competitions and rock-climbing festivals, and the grass-roots approach worked. By 2002 Cloudveil had 150 products, 15 employees, and about $2 million in sales.