Jimmy Valverde says his younger self would be surprised he is graduating from the BYU Marriott School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurial management. Looking back on his journey, Valverde says that God has led him, step-by-step, to opportunities greater than he envisioned for himself.
From a young age growing up in American Fork, Utah, Valverde aspired to build businesses. So, when he returned from his church mission, he was ready to dive into the entrepreneurial world full-time. But Valverde’s mentor, Nathan Pugsley, encouraged him to give college a try for one year and offered him a private scholarship to help pay for school. “I was a little reluctant at first, but I decided to go to college,” Valverde says.
Valverde began attending Utah Valley University in 2022 and started his company, Corporate Pickleball Solutions, which sells custom pickleball equipment for businesses and hosts corporate events.
During the first year of running his company, while juggling investments and bills, Valverde realized he had fallen behind on paying tithing. By the time he added up everything he owed in tithing, the amount would exceed his already tight budget.
He felt he had two options: pay tithing right then or wait until his next paycheck. “I do not necessarily feel like there was a right or wrong answer; I knew God would still love and care for me either way,” he says. “But what I knew I had to do for me was to make the sacrifice to pay my tithing.”
The morning after he paid his tithing, he received a call for a bulk order from a client, who then connected Valverde to another client who purchased an order. Two days later, a third person—completely unrelated to the first two—purchased another bulk order. “Not only did God bless me one time or two, but three times,” Valverde says. “This helped strengthen my testimony that as I put God first, He will bless me with more than I could imagine.”
After his first year at UVU, Valverde felt impressed to apply to BYU—despite not having been admitted the first time he applied. “I wanted to go to BYU and be surrounded by my faith and beliefs every single day,” he says.
Valverde was driving with his mom when he opened the email from BYU telling him he was accepted, and she began to cry. “She knew that one of my desires was to attend BYU, so she was really excited,” he says. “I saw it as a gift from God and a sign that I should go.”
Even though he’d always loved entrepreneurship, Valverde didn’t know if that’s what he wanted to study. During a college fair hosted by BYU Marriott, he connected with students and faculty from the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. “All of a sudden, I had this community and this support that I didn’t have while building my own businesses before.” Valverde applied to the entrepreneurship program and was accepted.
In 2023, Valverde’s pickleball company hit six figures, and balancing both school and business became difficult. Even though he valued school, he considered dropping his classes. A close friend noticed Valverde’s struggle and reminded him of the importance of maintaining his commitment to attend college. “That semester, my friend spent countless hours that he didn’t need to, tutoring me and helping me in my classes, while expecting nothing in return,” Valverde says. “He helped remind me that if it’s worth my time, it’s worth my all.”
As Valverde approaches graduation, he says he has seen God’s hand helping him become who he is today. “I believe that as we pray and ask God what He wants from us in this life, He will open so many more doors,” he says. “Looking back, I’m grateful to God for not giving me the life I thought I wanted and for giving me the life He knew would help me make the most impact in the world.”