# Brooks Powell

> Brooks Powell is the founder and CEO of Cheers (formerly Thrive+), a Houston-based consumer health brand built around DHM, a plant extract he first read about as a Princeton sophomore writing a neuroscience paper on alcohol. He licensed a permeabilizer technology from the university, launched in 2017, pitched on Shark Tank, and grew the company past $25M in revenue and 13M+ doses sold. A former religion major and Division I swimmer, he turned a class assignment into a category and earned a spot on the Forbes Next 1000 list.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Cheers
- **Organizations:** Cheers (formerly Thrive+)
- **From:** Houston, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A., Religion, Princeton University
- **Known for:** Built Cheers past $25M in revenue and 13M+ doses sold, First to import DHM into the United States at large scale, Negotiated an exclusive license from Princeton on a permeabilizer technology developed via sponsored research with his professors

## Career timeline

- **2014** — As a Princeton sophomore, discovers DHM research while writing a neuroscience paper on alcohol
- **2017** — Graduates Princeton; officially launches the company (as Thrive+) in June from Houston
- **2018** — Pitches on ABC's Shark Tank seeking $400K for 10%; leaves without a deal
- **2019** — Rebrands Thrive+ to Cheers and closes a $2.1M seed round
- **2021** — Named to the Forbes Next 1000 list of upstart entrepreneurs
- **2021** — Raises Series A funding; total funding reaches roughly $4.1M

## Achievements

- Built Cheers past $25M in revenue and 13M+ doses sold
- First to import DHM into the United States at large scale
- Negotiated an exclusive license from Princeton on a permeabilizer technology developed via sponsored research with his professors
- Won Princeton's inaugural Tiger Entrepreneur Award
- Named to the Forbes Next 1000 list (2021)
- Delivered a TEDxPrincetonU talk, 'Taming Alcohol's Dark Side'

## Latest updates

- **2021-05** — Raised Series A funding; bringing total funding to roughly $4.1M
- **2021-01** — Named to the Forbes Next 1000 list

## Links

- Website: https://cheershealth.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brooksapowell
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/thrivecure
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxK6pi9oWNQ
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecheersceo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecheersceo/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/brooks-powell
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-14