May 8, 2017

Meet Ido Leffler of Yoobi in El Segundo

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ido Leffler.

Ido, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My parents always encouraged my creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Growing up, I looked up to my father as he successfully built a property development company from the ground up. When Australia was hit with one of the worst recessions in its history, it collapsed the residential market, along with my father’s business. Even through the hardship, my father refused to give up his dream, and it is that determination and resilience that fueled my belief that even through setbacks, running your own business is worth the risk.

Through unyielding support from my parents, I co-founded Yoobi, Cheeky, and Yes To Inc.

I was passionate about creating Yoobi for two reasons. First, growing up in Sydney, I always looked forward to racing through the colorful school supplies aisle with my mom. When I took my own kids shopping, I had a vastly different experience. They walked by the school supply aisle without so much as glancing at the supplies. My daughters got me thinking about creating a supply company that put a new spin on old classics.

The second reason was the awareness of the lack of funding for school supplies in classrooms nationwide. Teachers on average around $500 out of their own pockets for school supplies. My mother was a teacher and her dedication to her students was so inspiring. However, she would spend a lot of her own money on school supplies and classroom essentials. I kept thinking that this couldn’t be right. As I grew up and as I began my journey as an entrepreneur in the U.S., I saw that this was the norm. Classrooms either resembled a scene out of Alice in Wonderland or a DMV waiting room, depending on the amount of money teachers receive from the school. It was at that time that I realized that I wanted to create a colorful, vibrant brand that not only sparked creativity but also helped ease the financial burden on teachers, like my mother.

These two experiences inspired me to build Yoobi on a “one for you, one for me” model. For every item we sell, we donate to a classroom in need, right here in the US.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
We have definitely learned a lot along the way! Early on we learned the incredible importance of accurate forecasting and what can happen when you miss the mark. For our first back-to-school season we ended up ordering enough mechanical pencils for the rest of time. We had to learn as a team what to do when you over-order one item and under-order another (especially when the under-ordered item is in demand). It was a great learning experience that our team will never forget.

Yoobi – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Yoobi was founded in 2014 and it is all about awesome products for an awesome cause. Yoobi creates fun colorful stuff for school, home, or office that gives back. For every Yoobi item purchased, Yoobi donates an item to a classroom in need right here in the U.S. Together with our non-profit partner, the Kids In Need Foundation, Yoobi has impacted more than 2.4 million kids nationwide in under 3 years, and are on a mission to impact the lives of 5 million kids each year. Yoobi believes that school supplies should be available to every child in every classroom, and teachers should not have to spend their hard-earned money to make that happen.

Yoobi, as well as each of my businesses, is built on three key pillars: incredible people, kick ass product, and awesome cause. I believe that in order to start a company within an industry that already offers customers a lot of options, it has to be something that’s innovative, different, and most importantly, centered on cause.

As I mentioned previously, each year teachers spend around $500 out of their own pockets on fundamental supplies for their classroom. That adds up to over $1.6B in teacher spending each year. With Yoobi’s brand promise, we are helping teachers all across the U.S., by ensuring their students have the supplies they need to learn and be creative. Yoobi continuously hosts “Give Day” events, where our team works with our non-profit partner, the Kids In Need Foundation, to visit schools and distribute Yoobi supplies in person. Supplies are donated via Classroom Packs, parcels filled with essential school supplies like pencils, folders, crayons and glue for up to 30 students. The opportunity to engage directly with the awesome students and incredible teachers at these events is extremely rewarding and inspirational.

What is your favorite childhood memory?
Growing up my parents always took my brother and I on adventures and amazing trips. Although we didn’t have much money, they saw so much value in travel and having us experience new and exciting places and things. So some of my favorite memories are from these family trips. I remember when I was about 7 or 8 we went on this incredible road trip across the U.S. We visited so many different places and experienced cultures very different from our own. My parents always encouraged us to take in everything and truly immerse ourselves in the new culture. That learning experience helped to shape the man I am today. This is when I started to understand just how big the world is and how amazing learning about other cultures can be. Because of this, I have started to take my daughters on trips around the world so they can experience, learn and grow from other cultures.

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