You’ve already met our founder, Harvey Poon, who got the Volleyball Stuff train started, but there’s more than one engine keeping the train on the tracks. Meet Sanjiv Jasra, our CEO, who has been instrumental in growing Volleyball Stuff and vbs apparel into what it is today!

Q: Tell me a bit about your background with sports.

Sanjiv: I grew up in a small town called Revelstoke BC, and played lots of volleyball, it’s a big volleyball town. I played for the provincial team, and then I got a scholarship to go to Calgary at Mount Royal, so I played a couple of years at Mount Royal. That’s where I met Ryan, and then Harvey.

Can you tell me more about the process of you joining Volleyball Stuff?

In 2008 or 2009 Ryan and I were teammates at Mount Royal playing volleyball. I remember walking by the university gym and I saw Harvey set up with a booth. I went to Ryan and I asked, “What does your dad do?” And he says, “He runs this thing out of his house, and he sells some volleyballs and equipment, T-shirts and stuff to people. He just has his own home business.” I’m like, “That is so cool. We’ve got to do that.”

It was just kind of a casual conversation, but over time it was still in the back of my head. I was off doing my own thing at the time, but I kept poking every once in a while.

Ryan was just finishing up at University of Calgary and the economy was in a bit of a downturn. He was considering working in some finance spaces, but then Harvey said to him, “You know this opportunity is here. If you want to join the family business, let’s do it.” I think Ryan said, “Well, I’m only doing this if we get Sanjiv involved too, because he’s very motivated.

About a year later, as Ryan got familiar with the business, we went out for coffee and he basically says, “What do you think? Are you still into this?” This is a funny part of the story. I was wearing a jacket and I had a Mizuno volleyball T-shirt underneath. And I’m like, “I was born ready!” **unzips jacket dramatically**

What were the early days like?

Growing up in Revelstoke, there were always these twenty team volleyball tournaments. I told them, “These tournaments are awesome. Let’s just drive to Revelstoke and sell gear.” We loaded up Harvey’s 1994 Toyota to the roof with T-shirts and balls and shoes and all sorts of stuff. I think we sold like $1000 worth of stuff, which I was really excited about. I don’t think they were, but I’m like, “That was awesome! Let’s do it again!”

Ryan Poon, Harvey Poon, and Sanjiv Jasra

We’re trying to make lives easier for coordinators, and we can really expand on that as a company.

When did it start to grow beyond that? When did you try to push it to a next stage?

In 2012-13, we started working with more and more volleyball clubs. About 2015-16 there was a point where our retail sales really took a dip, because e-commerce platforms started to come into play, and that space was pretty competitive. So we started to focus more on group sales and specifically club volleyball sales. Shortly after that we get the Nationals contract and then we start to have a bit of a thing built up.

Sanjiv with members of the German Coaching Staff in 2017.

Tell me more about how the Volleyball Canada partnership came about.

Around 2017 I was introduced to the Nationals team coordinator. They were looking for gear for their National team program that’s based out of Richmond. The U14 National Championship popped up in Abbotsford, which they needed a supplier for, and she mentioned, “would you guys be interested?” They then asked us to do the Canada Cup, which was out of Richmond the following year. We came in and we started putting up mannequins and racks and hangers, and we started to have more of a professional setup.

2018 was the first year we had the Nationals contract. But there were some cardinal steps where we were impressing Volleyball Canada along the way. And now here we are seven years later!

What have been some of the biggest challenges that you’ve faced at vbs apparel?

I think just what happened through COVID. We parted ways with the Volleydome, which was a big deal because a lot of our customers would come through there. Meanwhile in BC, I’m emptying out our store. I’m putting everything in my garage. But then we took a step back, and here we are today. Lubdub Apparel exists, and all of our other categories. We had this time to focus on the business development side of it. We were able to keep the wheels going and it gave us a bit of time to reapproach everything we’re doing. Langley Christian School is one of the big things that came during COVID. It’s really transformed the way we’re marketing and partnering with schools and other associations today.

What skills and abilities do you think you bring to the role that have been key to your success?

I don’t really shy away from opportunity. I think that’s probably the biggest thing I’ve brought to the table, is seizing opportunities for the company.

What’s your vision for the company?

I would like to be a bigger version of what we have today, with a larger, more diversified client base, and just really helping the people that need the support in coordinating an apparel order. Because that’s effectively what we do regardless of the category, regardless of the sport, regardless of the institution. We’re trying to make lives easier for coordinators, and we can really expand on that as a company.

On the flip side, what do you value most from your employees?

When someone is just genuinely excited about what they’re doing. That’s a really fun thing to see, because it relates to how much passion I have in the business, too.