Ido Leffler

Ido Leffler (born 1977) is an Israeli-born Australian entrepreneur, investor, and advisor. He is the co-founder of Yoobi, Yes To Inc., Cheeky, Brandless, and Beach House Group.[1][2][3][4]

Each of the companies Leffler has founded and co-founded incorporates a social mission; Yoobi donates school supplies to children;[5] Yes To Inc. provides nutrition resources for children in Africa; Cheeky and Brandless donate meals through Feeding America;[6][7] and Beach House Group supports charities including KaBOOM, which funds playgrounds for children.[1][2][8]

Leffler is the co-author of Get Big Fast and Do More Good: Start Your Business, Make It Huge, and Change the World, a guide to entrepreneurship and brand-building. He has invested in or advised companies including Birchbox, Dollar Shave Club, and RangeMe.

Early life, education and early career

Leffler was born in Israel to Dan Leffler, an engineer and entrepreneur, and Yaffa Leffler, a school teacher.[9] When he was five, the family emigrated to Sydney, where his father built a property development company. In 1993, as Australia hit a major recession, the residential market collapsed and the company failed. The Lefflers lost their life savings and their home. Able to afford only the essentials, if Leffler "wanted to do anything – go to the movies, travel, buy something – it was up to him to figure out how to pay for it." In order to do so, he got a job at a grocery store, and then Psycho Chicken, a restaurant. At 18, he started his first business with his best friend, Evan Lever. Called the Roving Bakery, it was a home delivery service for breads and bagels.[10][11][12]

To help make ends meet, while working full-time as a school teacher, Yaffa Leffler began a successful Herbalife distributorship. Dan Leffler joined her as the business grew. In 1996 Ido Leffler attended the University of Technology Sydney. He graduated with a bachelor of business degree in marketing and international business in 1999. He then decided to join his parents and became an Herbalife distributor in Indonesia and then in India.[13][14][15]

Career

Other ventures

In 2016, Leffler appeared as a judge on the Oxygen television series Quit Your Day Job. A reality show which allowed entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to the panel of entrepreneurs and investors, Quit Your Day Job focused on women and minority entrepreneurs.[30]

Leffler and Kalish wrote a guide to modern entrepreneurship, Get Big Fast and Do More Good, published by Harcourt in 2014. Kalish and Leffler described the book as "very simply, operating a business in an ethical, moral way with equal regard to our consumers, our partners, the environment and the well-being of everyone involved in the production of our products."[31]

He is an investor in and advisor for a wide variety of startups and established companies, and serves on the board of directors for Spark New Zealand.[32]

Personal life, philanthropy, and recognition

Leffler lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and their three children. He is a member of the Melbourne branch of the Young Presidents' Organization, and serves as a trustee for the Asia Society and as a co-chair of their Center for Global Education.[33] He is an emeritus council member of the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs.[19][34]

Leffler received the 2017 Retail Innovator Award from Retail Touch Points[35] and the UTS Alumni Award for Excellence by the UTS Business School. He won the 2015 Chancellor's Award for Excellence,[36] and the Starlight Foundation's 2015 Innovator Award, which recognizes individuals and corporations who have made significant contributions to communities with the goal of promoting positive social impact.[37] He was also named one of Fast Company's "Most Creative People."[38]