Skydiving for sales

(Fortune Small Business) -- In the quest for brand recognition, some entrepreneurs sponsor NASCAR drivers, while others slap their logos on the backs of local baseball players. John Hart launched a skydiving team and emblazoned his company's name, Selection.com, across the chutes.

"I wanted to fill a competition void in my life," says Hart, 47, of Cincinnati. "I was no longer in the Army, and I needed a team atmosphere. I also wanted to promote my business in a different way."

At first Team Fastrax, named after Selection.com's employment-screening software, consisted of five members, including Hart, his brother, and two employees. But the group has grown to 26 skydivers and four professional parachute packers, all of whom are paid by the dive.

Selection.com spends $300,000 a year sponsoring the team, but Hart estimates that he gains exposure worth about $750,000 annually by having the divers jump into college football games and other sporting events.

In August, Team Fastrax will compete in the World Formation Skydiving Championships in Maubeuge, France. The team has taken home gold and silver medals in World Cup events, but this is its first time competing in the championships. While there, it plans to collaborate with friendly rivals, the U.S. Army Golden Knights, to create a complex eight-person formation.