By Scott Jackson
Jeff Kearl’s first company, launched during the tech boom of the late 1990s, grew rapidly before collapsing in the 2000 dot-com crash. But he powered through adversity to build an impressive portfolio of investments in the tech and start-up world, making him the perfect fit to deliver the keynote address at the WSU Center for Entrepreneurship’s 2025 Business Plan Competition in April. A veteran entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and former executive chairman of Skullcandy Inc., Kearl shared the experiences, lessons, and philosophies that shaped his career.
Now a partner at Pelion Venture Partners, Kearl encourages others to embrace the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship with creativity, resilience, and clarity of vision.
Judges from a broad sampling of industries awarded more than $61,000 in prizes to college and high school teams during the competition’s awards banquet, but the evening was not just about awards—it was about celebrating the spirit of entrepreneurship. Through his keynote, Kearl urged students to dream big, build deliberately, and learn from every step of the journey, just as he has done.
Mentorship matters
Reflecting on his own path, Kearl emphasized the enduring impact mentors can have on a young entrepreneur’s life. As a student, he benefitted from a professor who not only encouraged him but later became the first investor in his early business ventures. That support gave him the confidence to take risks, learn from mistakes, and persist through challenges. Later, Kearl says that same kind of support from leaders in his industry, including figures like legendary venture capitalist Bob Kagle, helped shape his trajectory toward the success he enjoys today.
He encouraged attendees to seek opportunities to work under leaders who genuinely care about developing others. Kearl says it’s important for developing professionals to seek out work with mentorship opportunities, even if it’s the lower paying offer.
He also urged current professionals to invest their time in mentoring promising talent working under them: “Your job is to get a couple of these people believing in themselves—it starts with you,” he says.
Drawing from his own experience both as a mentee and later as a leader, Kearl underscored that mentorship is one of the most powerful ways to make a lasting impact on someone’s career.
Success is not a straight line
Kearl was candid about the ups and downs he experienced on the road to success. After his first company collapsed, the painful experience of laying off employees and seeing a dream falter left lasting impressions.
I’ve had what you would call financial success—but success does not happen in a straight line. It is not linear,” he says. “When you have setbacks, you should know that it’s an experience. It is not permanent; you can learn from this moment and be better next time.”
Rather than viewing failure as the end of the journey, Kearl encouraged students to see it as part of the process. Many successful entrepreneurs, he noted, experienced failures early on, but those experiences often led to deeper knowledge and better decision-making. Venture capitalists, he says, often value founders who have weathered a failure or two, because introspective entrepreneurs come back stronger.
“Just know that if you feel a moment at age 24 when things aren’t going quite right, it doesn’t mean things are going off the tracks,” he says. “You are still on the path to success.”
Vision fuels entrepreneurial success
While resilience is crucial, Kearl stressed that vision is what ultimately drives success. Entrepreneurship, he says, is not just about reacting to circumstances— it is about imagining and building something uniquely valuable.
“The beautiful part about entrepreneurship is it really is the act of creating the dream,” he says. “You visualize it first in your head, you dream what it can be, and then you put the pieces in place to make it happen.”
Kearl likened entrepreneurship to building from an architectural plan—the clearer the vision, the more effectively others can help execute it. Successful entrepreneurs not only dream vividly but also communicate that vision with precision to employees, investors, and customers. Early-stage entrepreneurs often operate under tight constraints—limited resources, no established teams, and little outside support. But those who can clearly articulate what they are building, and why, are better positioned to attract the help they need to grow.
“Even if you took away the financial reward, the satisfaction you get when you take something from nothing, put it into the world, and other people find value in it is deep,” he says.
Kearl also emphasized that assembling the right team is part of realizing a vision. Culture, values, and teamwork are not accidental; they must be intentionally built from the start.
“A big part of this is just putting this collection of people together, helping them understand your vision with deep clarity, and then managing the execution toward it. That’s the entire recipe,” he says. “You can create great economic success, but more importantly, you can create great life memories with the people who did the building with you.”
To engage with the Business Plan Competition, email Marie Mayes m.mayes@wsu.edu.
