John Jacobs

Biography

John is the co-founder of the $150 million lifestyle brand Life is Good. When he and his brother Bert started the company in 1994, they had $78 in their pockets, lived out of their van, and sold t-shirts on the streets of Boston. Was this their way of avoiding the “real world”? You betcha. Did it turn into something much bigger? Absolutely.

It has been over 25 years since they sold their first t-shirt, but John and Bert champion the same mission: to spread the power of optimism. On their journey, they’ve been inspired by a vibrant community of resilient optimists who identify deeply with the brand and who constantly demonstrate the depth and meaning behind the three simple words “Life is Good.”

While John and Bert believe life is good, they also know life isn’t perfect, which is why Life is Good donates 10% of its annual net profits to the Life is Good Playmaker Project, which helps over 1 million kids overcome the impact of poverty, violence, and illness each year. In making their company a fully-integrated for-profit/non-profit model, the brothers hope to use their business as a vehicle to do good in the world.

Because of his unique perspective that ties rational optimism to business, John has been asked to share his transformative message at a wide range of corporate and thought leadership conferences including Inc 5000, Morgan Stanley, SAP Sapphire, Discover, and more. He and Bert have been featured in Forbes, NPR’s How I Built This, CNNMoney, CNBC’s Business Nation, ABC News’ Nightline, NBC’s The Today Show, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, and Men’s Health Magazine, among others.

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Life is Not Easy, Life is Not Perfect, Life is Good

Bert & John Jacobs founded Life is Good to inspire people to celebrate the good around them. Over time, a vibrant community grew that taught them that optimism is the most powerful strategy to living a happy and fulfilling life, especially in the hardest of times. In times of uncertainty, fear, loss, and tragedy, we still have the choice to focus our energy on what’s right in our lives and the world around us and find the opportunity instead
of obstacles. We have the ability to use these times of darkness to come together, to see each other as humans (not just co-workers or clients), build unbreakable bonds, and innovate like never before. Through this virtual keynote experience, Bert or John Jacobs will share the inspiring business story of Life is Good, from the humble beginnings selling T-shirts out of a van, to finding opportunity in the face of hardships like the Great Recession and unthinkable tragedies like the Boston Marathon Bombing, which took place steps from the Life is Good
Headquarters. Audience members will leave this keynote with a renewed sense of optimism and with the tools and inspiration needed to find and grow the good around them – in business and in life.

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