Jacobs, Bert
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About Bert Jacobs
Keynote speaker Bert Jacobs is co-founder and CEO (Chief Executive Optimist) of Life is Good, which spreads the power of optimism through inspiring art, a passionate community, and groundbreaking nonprofit work.
Bert and his brother John launched their business with $78 in their pockets, selling T-shirts in the streets of Boston. Today, Life is Good is a $100 million positive lifestyle brand sold by over 2,000 retailers across the US and Canada.
Bert worked as a ski instructor and pizza delivery guy in Vail, CO before teaming with his brother John to design and sell T-shirts in college dorms up and down the East Coast. After five years traveling in their van together, the brothers officially launched Life is Good with the mission to spread the power of optimism.
Early on, Bert and John were inspired by stories of people, mainly children, facing great adversity. These stories illustrated that optimism is most powerful in the darkest of times and inspired the creation of a fully integrated business model dedicated to helping kids in need. Life is Good donates at least 10% of its annual net profits to the Life is Good Kids Foundation to positively impact over 120,000 kids daily facing poverty, violence, and illness.
Bert focuses his energy on guiding overall vision and creating the art and message for the brand across categories. He enjoys live music, travel, and surfing. His shoes do not always match.
To inspire others to choose optimism and grow the good in their lives, Bert and John wrote Life is Good: The Book/ How to Live with Purpose and Enjoy the Ride, published by National Geographic in September 2015.
Bert has been awarded honorary doctorates from several universities for entrepreneurship, business innovation and philanthropy. He and Life is Good have been featured on 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.
Bert and John are the youngest of six siblings from Needham, MA. They credit their mother as the first powerful optimist in their lives, and the inspiration for Life is Good.
Optimism Can Take You Anywhere
Bert Jacobs and his brother John launched the Life is Good Company with $78 in their pockets selling t-shirts on the streets of Boston. Today, Life is Good is a $100-million, positive lifestyle brand sold by more than 2,000 retailers across the U.S. and Canada. Their inspiring business story and lessons of optimism and corporate social responsibility will demonstrate how focusing on the good can transform your life, your business, and take you anywhere– and you’ll enjoy the ride!
What For-Profits can Learn from Nonprofits
The smartest capitalists of today and in the future will integrate social work into their businesses–their customers demand it. Doing so draws out a deeper purpose in corporate work and strengthens organizations. Bert explains the benefits of philanthropizing for-profit organizations and guides audiences through the process: from integrating charity into the sales process, to marketing the message, to cultivating a genuine culture of social good in the workplace. Bert has lived and breathed “giving” at every stage of Life is Good’s growth, making his ideas and experiences relevant to audiences of any size.
Harnessing the Power of Optimism to Innovate and Thrive in Times of Change
Now more than ever, business leaders foresee significant change ahead for their companies. 71% of CEO’s expect the next 3 years to be more critical for their industry than the last 50 years combined. Jacobs’s presentation helps companies harness the power of optimism by creating a “yes, and” culture focused on seeing opportunities and building a brand that will stand the test of time.
Co-Create: The Secret to Building (and Keeping) Your Audience
Life is Good’s core message of optimism and resilience was inspired largely by its customers who, over the years, have shared hundreds of personal stories about how optimism has helped them in times of great adversity. As a result, the positive lifestyle brand has gathered a passionately loyal customer base–after all, they helped build it. From the company’s inception–starting with Jake, the smiley-faced Life is Good mascot–the Jacobs brothers have incorporated community feedback into the creation of their brand, and still continue to do so today. In this presentation, Jacobs shares lessons on co-creating with your community to build loyalty, relevance, and a deeply personal connection with your audience.
Optimism from the Inside Out: Growing a Positive Company Culture
Creating a positive customer experience begins first with creating a positive employee experience. Simply stated, happy employees make happy customers. Rallying customers behind your brand’s mission (and product) begins within the walls of your organization. In this presentation, Jacobs shares his experiences developing Life is Good from its humble beginnings–operating out of a van and selling on the streets of Boston–to the iconic lifestyle brand that now employees over 200 brand champions who truly believe in the power of optimism. Drawing on lessons of gratitude, openness, and compassion–which are vital to Life is Good’s company culture–this presentation will help employees discover their own sense of optimism by uncovering a deeper meaning to the work they do. Through simple mindset shifts, Jacobs will teach you how to grow a company culture that creates a positive experience for your employees, your customers, and beyond.
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