Ido Leffler
Ido Leffler 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. Each of the companies Leffler has founded and co-founded incorporates a social mission; Yoobi donates school supplies to children; Yes To Inc. provides nutrition resources for children in Africa; Cheeky and Brandless donate meals through Feeding America; and Beach House Group supports charities including KaBOOM, which funds playgrounds for children. 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. 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. 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. Career Trendtrade International, Yes To Inc., SOMA Water After returning from India, Leffler founded Trendtrade International with Lance Kalish, an alumnus of UTS whom Leffler met in 1997 through playing soccer. It focused on international business development. In 2006, they founded Yes To Inc., then known as Yes To Carrots. Based in Tel Aviv, the company produced and marketed organic hair and skincare products. The company name was derived from Leffler's philosophy: "Say yes to positivity." As of 2017, Yes To Inc. was sold in over 25,000 stores in the United States, Canada, and the UK. In founding Yes To Inc., Leffler and Kalish established the Yes To Carrots Seed Fund, a non-profit organization that provided under-served communities with the resources to develop and sustain organic food sources and access to healthy nutrition. In 2012, the company partnered with Mama Hope to create Yes To Hope, which provided schools with funding for year-round organic gardens. Leffler co-founded SOMA in 2012 and served as the chairman of its