The 2015 Legacy Banquet

Young Alumnus of the Year Mr. Jesse Lear ’09 As a business student at Cedarville, Jesse Lear dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur directly after graduation. Following graduation, he moved back with his parents and began plans to start a business. When his money ran out before his business took off, he moved to Columbus and sold cable TV service door-to-door. During that time, he and his co-worker and roommate, Travis Smith – also a Cedarville graduate, noticed a need for a trash service that would pick up trash from apartment renters. After investigating the possibilities, Jesse and Travis began V.I.P. Waste, which gathers and disposes of waste and recycling in apartment communities. In 2014, V.I.P. Waste was named one of the Top 30 Startups to Watch. While continuing in a strategic leadership role at V.I.P. Waste, Jesse has pursued several other business opportunities. He is especially excited about Nellie’s Natural Ice Pops. Jesse founded Nellie’s Natural Ice Pops in honor of his late grandmother, who was a spiritual leader in his family. Nellie’s Natural Ice Pops is a Columbus-based startup that features artisan ice pops with gourmet flavors and wholesome ingredients. During his time at Cedarville University, Jesse was involved in SIFE (now Enactus.) With SIFE he traveled to the Ukraine, where his team helped high school-aged students work on entrepreneurial projects. The students chose to make popcorn balls and sell them on the beach. He recalls watching them conquer their fear of selling and seeing their faces light up as they realized they could improve their lives. This began his passion for mentoring young entrepreneurs. He said of his role as an entrepreneur, “My goal is to use my experience in entrepreneurship to not only become successful in the business world, but also to increase my influence so I can be a mentor for other young entrepreneurs to help them grow in their business and their faith.” With the support of his parents, Dale and Rebecca (Dotson) Lear ’80, and two sisters, Lacy ’11 and Lani ’15, Jesse has been awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 by the U.S. Small Business Association, as well as being given an Empact100 award by the United Nations as one of the top 100 companies in the U.S. run by entrepreneurs younger than 35. He has also been mentioned in Time, Success, Entrepreneur, and other publications. He advises others not to miss opportunities looking for God’s will in “a precise ‘dot’,” but rather staying within His broader will for their lives.