Four University of Wisconsin freshman are looking to give back to their community and promote happy and healthy lifestyles through their startup and hope to put smiles on people’s faces in the process.
Their business, Smile On Clothing, works to spread a positive message to students in addition to giving back through selling clothing.
Matthew Schlidt, Smile On founder, said he began Smile On in October 2015 with the hope it would help to spread good energy around campus. The name Smile On was chosen as a way to encapsulate that message.
Schlidt originally started Smile On completely on his own before enlisting the help of his brother, Joey Schlidt, and two of their friends.
All the members of Smile On are currently freshmen at UW who are studying business. Smile On refrains from assigning anyone titles so that all members are equal and everyone works together collectively as a team, Matthew Schlidt said.
So far, Smile On has created two t-shirts, a long sleeve pocket t-shirt and a women’s black racer-back workout shirt. Smile On has already managed to sell about 500 shirts, Matthew Schlidt said.
As part of their positive lifestyle message, 10 percent of the profits Smile On makes goes to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to provide dental care for adolescents who do not have the resources for what they need, he said.
Timmy Bishop, a Smile On member, said he joined Smile On because he felt that the positivity that the company promotes matches his own mindset in life.
“We don’t just say we are a t-shirt company,” Bishop said. “We are a lifestyle choice and we want to represent this message through any way. The goal is to spread it as far as possible, impact as many lives as possible and create a sustainable business in the process.”
One of the ways Smile On is working to promote happy and healthy lifestyles is sponsoring events on campus. The group will host a yoga event outside of Gordon Dining and Events Center April 24 in conjunction with Breathe for Change, Matthew Schlidt said.
Charles Jessup, a Smile On member, said while Smile On is currently only supporting the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin through donations, in the future, he hopes to be able to interact with some of the children they help and foster a deeper connection with the community and the kids themselves.
In addition, Smile On is also hoping to plan organize a 5K run to encourage better lifestyles for students, Joey Schlidt, a Smile On member, said.
“A lot of people love the message and what we have noticed is that people seem really happy wearing our clothing and once they understand the company, they are promoting this happy, healthy lifestyle,” Joey Schlidt said.
Smile On hopes to continue to expand beyond Wisconsin to other campuses. The company is working on creating a campus representative program so that students from campuses across the U.S. can host a branch of the Smile On company, Joey Schlidt said.
Both Joey and Matthew Schlidt are currently leaning toward finance and real estate majors. Apart from Smile On, both serve as co-marketing directors for the student organization Madventures.
Bishop plans to major in marketing and entrepreneurship. He is currently involved in club basketball and Humorology, a club that performs musical productions to raise money for charity.
Jessup also plans to major in entrepreneurship and is thinking of double majoring in marketing. He also participates in Madventures.
“To me, Smile On means trying to spread smiles and really present positivity no matter what your positions are,” Joey Schlidt said. “Smiles are super contagious and we think we can spread that and promote happiness around campus.”
