Hardware Podcasts

The Life Is Good Company: Bert and John Jacobs

How I Built This · 2 Sept 2019 · 1h 01m

What this episode covers

Bert and John Jacobs, co-founders of the Life Is Good Company, recount how they transformed a struggling t-shirt hustle into a $100 million brand by pivoting to a simple optimistic message. They detail their early days selling shirts from a van, the pivotal moment they created the 'Jake' character and trademarked the phrase 'Life Is Good,' and their strategy of securing key retail accounts like Galleons to scale distribution. The episode also highlights their decision to remain independent and their reflections on how their dysfunctional childhood and mother's optimism shaped the company's core philosophy.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Life Is Good Company, Galleons, Dick Sporting Goods, Midland Graphics, CounterEv Furniture, Shake Shack, Starbucks, Sweet Green
Products
Jake, Life Is Good

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