About the Speaker
Bert Jacobs is co-founder and CEO “chief executive optimist” of the apparel and accessories brand Life is Good, which spreads the power of optimism through inspiring art, a passionate community and groundbreaking nonprofit work. Jacobs has devoted his adult life to creating clothing that focuses on the positive, and he uses the company’s proceeds to help children in need. Bert and his brother John launched their business in the late 1980s, selling T-shirts in the streets of Boston and at colleges up and down the East Coast from the back of a used van dubbed “the Enterprise.” In the nearly three decades since, Life is Good has grown into a business with $150 million in annual sales. The company’s T-shirts and other products are sold at thousands of retail outlets across the U.S. and Canada. Remarkably, the company has accomplished this despite spending no money on advertising. Instead, the business relies on consumer word-of-mouth to drive growth.
