Jeff Pedersen (Del Sol & Cariloha)

Taylor Brasher

Del Sol started up as a very small family business.  In 2000 Jeff and his wife got into the business by moving to St. Marks and working on the front lines.  Jeff started as an intern (increasing sales by 30%) and moved his way up the ladder from store manager, to VP of sales, to partner and eventually CEO of the company.

Jeff bought out his partners in 2003 and 2006 and then in 2007 started up the sister company Cariloha.  Cariloha’s introduction was rough, they had a hard time getting traction with their product.  That is when Jeff asked his team if they could create a fabric out of bamboo.  They were creating their own marketplace and saw that this idea was incredible.  They started with 5000 shirts and they all sold out in less than 3 weeks, since that time they have had incredible success.

Del Sol has an interesting way of finding its employees.  70% of 

the employees that make up the employee base of Del Sol and Cariloha started working there as interns.  With this method of finding people, their interns work all the way up the ladder and already know how to deal with customers and are familiar with the company.

Some of Jeff’s entrepreneurial tips focused on a very important point: Hiring people to help your dream take off.  You need to love working with them, they should be smarter than you are, and they need to share the same fire/ passion that you have. 

Jeff is a great example of someone who works hard, doesn’t let anything hold him back from reaching his goals, and someone who keeps true to their values.