Alumnus Entrepreneur Jackson Brewer '10 Teams Up With Boston Bruins Goalie Tim Thomas

When Jackson Brewer ’10 first heard the phrase, “prove people wrong,” he was inspired, but he didn’t know it would end up being the springboard for a small business.

The story began where many start-up stories seem to start: in a friend’s basement. Brewer, who played hockey at Rivers, then graduated and went on to play for the Boston Advantage hockey team before matriculating at college, was sitting in this basement with fellow hockey player and one of his closest friends, Cam Brown. Brown, who stands at five feet six inches tall, had often been doubted in the hockey world because of his height. He told Brewer he wasn’t going to let anyone stop him from finding success. In fact, he said his motto was “prove people wrong” (PPW).

And he did. Brewer says Brown was the first of his friends to commit to a college, accepting a full scholarship to play hockey at the University of Maine.

But the slogan, “prove people wrong,” quickly became about more than just capturing college success – it had sparked a much bigger fire inside Brewer, Brown, and two more friends, Kyle Nickerson and Charlie Ackerman. Soon, the four friends were sporting wrist bands they made that bore the phrase they had come to live by: “PPW: Success is a Choice.”

The wristbands prompted questions from friends and the foursome found the motto was resonating with many different people.

“We realized it wasn’t something that just related to hockey,” said Brewer.

In the fall of 2010, they ordered 1,000 wristbands imprinted with the phrase, “Prove People Wrong,” and sold each one for $3. The bracelets sold out in less than two months.

Brewer’s friends gradually became his business partners too. With a second batch of wristbands selling quickly and a basic website up and running, the young entrepreneurs mocked up t-shirts with the money they had earned from the wristbands. The t-shirts were popular too, and four orders of 100 to 200 shirts later, their message was certainly spreading.

“After a while, using old money to do new things wasn’t working,” said Brewer. “We realized that if we wanted to expand our product line, we would need investment or a loan – a ‘sparkplug’ for the company.”’

Little did Brewer know, a different kind of sparkplug would come their way first. In June of 2011, the four friends put together a care package containing PPW wristbands, t-shirts and a handwritten letter, and gave it to a friend’s father who had a connection to the Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup parade.

“We always said there are two guys we want to wear our gear,” said Brewer. “Tim Thomas and Tom Brady.”

After being handed off to several people, the package finally landed in the hands of Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas. Thomas’ financial advisor called Brown and said the Bruin loved the concept and had lived by the company’s motto. Thomas wanted to wear PPW products and see what he could do to promote them. The conversation prompted an in-person meeting with Thomas the likes of which the four friends could only have dreamed of when they began wearing their PPW wristbands less than a year earlier.

Brewer and his now-colleagues were interested in Thomas’ enthusiasm and the excitement was palpable, but he says they realized orders could skyrocket if the hockey goalie began promoting the products, and their method of filling email orders as they came in with no formal structure might be impossible to sustain.

“We had a dream of spreading this message as far as we could,” said Brewer. “But we were in over our heads. We were four kids who didn’t know anything about business.”

So, they started learning, initially by reaching out to contacts who could give them some business advice. They mocked up a business plan and cultivated some capital.

“We could stay up all night every night to get [the company] going and it probably wouldn’t be enough,” said Brewer. “Nine out of 10 start ups fail, but we believe in it and we think the message is the type of thing anyone can relate to.”

Brewer also reached out to one of his former Rivers teachers, Dan McCartney, who launched and owned businesses before coming to teach math at Rivers. The former student-teacher pair had several conversations about starting a business.

"Mr. McCartney has been a big part of getting this off the ground," said Brewer.

As a result of receiving advice from various friends and contacts, Brewer and his colleagues established their company as an LLC and made their central motto – Prove People Wrong® - a registered trademark.

Now, with some capital raised and Thomas getting involved in promotional efforts, it’s on to a new website and new product lines, both of which launch April 6.

“I was giddy when I heard Tim Thomas wanted to be involved,” said Brewer. “He could be with any company he wanted.”

Brewer says starting a business has been an exciting process but, he adds, there is more to owning a business than he initially realized. Daily conference calls, large amounts of email, and long drives to meetings are just a few of the items he squeezes into his day as a full-time student at Trinity College in Hartford, Ct. Despite the sporadic and busy schedule, he says starting this company with three of his best friends has made all the worries worth it.

“At the end of the day, we didn’t want to look back and think about what could have been,” said Brewer. “[Prove People Wrong] is not just hockey or just one sport – it’s people, it’s medical, it’s whatever you want it to be. That’s what drives us – we truly believe in it…Whatever your passion is, no one is going to get in your way if you work hard enough. I think that’s something we can all rally around.”

Brewer, who is the son of faculty member Laura Brewer, gives Rivers credit for helping him become the person he is today.

“Rivers is an incredible school,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade my experience there for anything. You’re really developing great relationships, not just with your friends, but with your teachers. Because of the situations Rivers puts you in, you grow as a person. I don’t even know who I was before Rivers.”

For more information about Prove People Wrong visit www.provepeoplewrong.com.