On Oct. 9 and 10, Bert and John Jacobs, founders of the Life is Good brand, will visit Indiana as part of their eight-week nationwide tour to spread optimism with a goal to give $1 million to kids in need.
Twenty years ago, the Jacobs brothers from Needham, Massachusetts, had $78 to their name, and were about to close a five-year chapter of peddling self-designed T-shirts out of a van they both lived in, and later drove cross-country, when they had an epiphany.
A single conversation in the car inspired them to create “Jake” — a simple T-shirt character who represented the power of optimism.
Today, the iconic stick figure and inspirational message have spanned into a full line of men’s, women’s, children’s and home collections and turned them into a $100 million lifestyle brand.
The Indianapolis Recorder spoke with Bert, chief executive optimist at Life is Good (John is the chief creative optimist), on how they remain true to their original mission of optimism; how the brand has expanded over the years; their dedication to helping kids overcome the impact of violence, poverty and trauma; and what’s next for Life is Good.
Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper: Tell me about the origins of the Life is Good company.
Bert: We formed this about 25 years ago making T-shirts, but Life is Good came about five years in. At the beginning, we wanted to make a living selling our artwork, and we were intimidated by the whole world of fine art so we just thought T-shirts were a financially accessible way to sell our fine art. The big rush for us early on was that this was a great way to communicate messages. What people are willing to put on their chest says a lot about who they are on the inside. That first five years, we didn’t have much success. We were selling out T-shirts at college campuses up and down the East Coast and were searching for what our brand would be. The idea came out of a conversation we had about how the media is always reinforcing what’s wrong with the world, rarely celebrating what’s right with the world. We thought this was our opportunity — create a brand about optimism and celebrate life.
Did the public immediately embrace your optimistic attitude?
Some did and some didn’t. Life is Good was the first time we tried to wholesale. The first day, we sold 45 T-shirts in 45 minutes, then we went to retailers to sell it by the case. We went to Cape Cod and got rejected everywhere. I remember one guy brought us in the back of the store, we thought he was going to give us an order. But he asked us three times if we had stolen the shirts. (laughs) We said no. He looks at us again and said, “If you stole them, you stole some stupid s**t.” (laughs) Thankfully by the end of the day, one woman gave us an order. She helped us with the next stage of the business, too. She asked if the character Jake liked ice cream. We drew Jake with an ice cream cone. It occurred to us that it was about developing graphics showing what people love and value. The business grew. Between 1994 and 2000, it went from $0 to $3 million in sales. Between 2000 and 2004, it grew from $3 million to $40 million.
What do you think contributed to the rapid growth?
People wrote us emails and letters who were going through incredibly difficult things. The brand was about celebrating life and having fun. We had never really thought about optimism as a way to get through difficult things. What we found was that the people who embraced the words Life is Good, the most were oftentimes people who faced the most adversity. We heard from people going through chemotherapy, people who were in car accidents and lost a limb, people with difficult home circumstances. We realized that when people are really challenged and they find a way to get through, they have a heightened gratitude. This is what led to us creating a kids foundation and us having events to raise money for families going through difficult things. We’ve never been the best businessmen, but the brand concept is so strong and needed, it’s carried us.
Tell me about Jake. He’s so simple but has been an integral part of the brand.
People can relate to Jake. He’s simple, down to earth. Most of the time he’s barefoot, he doesn’t have much. The whole idea for the character is that his power comes from his disposition. It’s the idea that happiness doesn’t come from what you have or where you are. It comes from inside — it’s a choice. It’s not just more fun to be optimistic; it’s a pragmatic strategy for approaching life.
You’ve transitioned into literature. Tell me about your book Life Is Good: The Book.
The book is broken down into 10 chapters, and each chapter is devoted to one super power. Simplicity is an example of a super power. We talk about gratitude, a sense of humor. All of the values we think are important for living a happy and fulfilling life are accessible to everyone. It’s almost like a joke we call them super powers. It’s not like X-ray vision or superhuman strength – these are things anybody can access, and they’re timeless.
You’ll be in Indiana soon! What brings you to the Hoosier state?
It’s been 20 years since my brother John and I have traveled in the van. This time we’re doing it in an Airstream and hitting 40 communities and spreading the power of optimism wherever we go. On Oct. 9, we’ll be in Granger, Indiana, at Jake’s on the Square and in Notre Dame, Indiana at the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore. On Oct. 10 we’ll be tailgating at the Notre Dame game against Navy. We’re also raising $1 million on this trip for kids in need. We want people to use the hashtag #GROWTheGood. We’re doing silly things like a bad dancing contest. We’re paying cash for bad dancing and giving them the opportunity to either keep the money or donate it. We also want people to send pictures and tell us something good and use the hashtag. For every hashtag, $1 is donated to the Life is Good Kids Foundation.
What’s next for Life is Good?
Well, we have a deal with Hallmark — they make Life is Good greeting cards. The nice thing is that everything we put on a T-shirt is applicable to greeting cards. Some of the proceeds go to helping kids. A lot is on the horizon, though. We’re going to get more involved in education and entertainment. The process of writing the book helps, but even if it wasn’t successful, it’s a foundational document for the next stage of Life Is Good. Our mission, vision and values aren’t changing; everything else is going to change. We’re going to take more chances. We’re going to use a lot of different art forms to spread the message and aggressively grow the business and nonprofit side. We’ve tested the brand in other countries, and what we’ve learned is that Life is Good is not just an American message — it’s a human message. We’re interested in taking it around the world.
For more information, visit LifeIsGood.com.
