Avela Corporation was originally founded in Houston, Texas in 1984 as an advertising branding company. Gary Young, the founder, president and CEO of Avela Corporation, took the company in a completely different direction starting in 2002 after a trade mission trip to China. As Mr. Young likes to tell it, "When I landed in Shanghai I thought I had been transported to another planet… glistening buildings that went on for miles and an energy in the air that you could feel!"
On the flight back he had the powerful thought that he just wittiness something historic: the freshman class of entrepreneurs in China transforming forming a nation. All he could think about was, "How can I play a small part in this? How do I get back here?" —China was so exciting, and still is!
With this powerful thought Mr. Young proceeded to call on his advertising customer base asking them if they needed anything made in China. He got his first order for $280,000 and from that moment on, Avela was transformed from an advertising agency to a China Sourcing company. Mr. Young says that the only thing he regrets is that this transformation did not happen sooner.
