Mamon – Yediot Ahronot Suppliment translation

Ilan and Michal Laor are the people behind the “Jojo’s,” the current favorite game among Israeli children. Before they entered the local market, they sold Mexican food in Texas, did delivery services in Australia, earned, lost, and never gave up.

Already eight months ago, when Michal and Ilan Laor first introduced the “Jojo’s”, which at the time were just tiny colorful figures, it was clear to them and to the marketing managers of the big companies that they were unveiling a hit. This hit would dominate the children’s market this year, just like the “Garbage pail kids” and the “Pogs” did in their time. Less than a month after hitting the market, a million Jojo’s were sold in kiosks. At that time, another five million Jojo’s entered the market, purchased by major companies for distribution as prizes and gifts: Burger Ranch, Sonol, Elite, Osem, the Society for the Protection of Nature with the children’s newspaper Mosh, and that’s just the beginning.

How many “Jojo’s” do you think you need to sell to say you’ve succeeded?” I ask Ilan Naor, wearing jeans and with wild curls. He thinks for a moment, smiles, as if hesitating whether to answer, and finally relents: “Okay,” he says, “After we sell 30 million “Jojo’s”, we’ll stop counting.” Anyone familiar with the market knows this is no small feat. Thirty million Jojo’s will be here, and it doesn’t even scare us. Because unlike their predecessors, the Jojo’s, doesn’t look like tiny bone fragments that you can roll between your fingers, they are charming characters, even the little monsters among them, who, if they’re really scary, can still manage to bring a smile to your face.”

“Jojo’s”, for those who don’t know yet, are 36 different and distinct figures, with two of them being in the shape of a Jojo’s with a star pattern*. They are sold at kiosks in silver packages, like candy, at a price of 1 shekel each. In toy stores, they will start selling beautiful packages with 15 figures, decorated with matte board cartoons.**

But, in reality, there are no written rules for this game. “The children invent the product and the rules themselves,” explain the creators of the idea, Michal and Ilan Laor. “Some kids throw them against the wall and they bounce on the floor because they are very elastic. Some move them quickly with spinning tops, bending down to pick them up from the floor. Kids are always coming up with new games, and now there is even a booklet being published, emphasizing the importance of each figure. After all, not every ‘Jojo’s’ is the same.”

Ilan and Michal Laor, both 37, moved from Australia to Israel two years ago with their four children. In a short time, since they arrived in the country, they have become a well-known couple among all the major marketing managers. It’s no wonder. They have the drive that many young Israelis have, and also a classic life story.

She is from Ramat Gan. He is from Moshav Menorah. They met while preparing for a pioneering settlement and have been together since they were 17, fighting to fulfill their dream: to make some money and live peacefully. And where life has taken them, it’s hard to believe.

In the army, Ilan joined the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, and Michal was part of the Nahal’s entertainment team with Hani Nahmias and Anat Topol. After their discharge, Michal became a flight attendant with El Al, and Alan took a job as a security officer on the plane. As part of his role, they lived in Europe and Africa for a while, enjoying life for a year. When they returned to Israel, they got married, and each pursued their childhood dream: Ilan studied Animal Science at the Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot and graduated with an agronomist diploma, while Michal studied dance at the Kibbutzim College. They worked, financed their studies, and welcomed their first child, Yael.

The first turning point in their lives came with their trip to Baltimore, USA, where Ilan wanted to study veterinary medicine. While waiting for admission, he decided not to sit idle and went to work as a construction laborer. Michal endured working for a wealthy Jew who promised that if they could just endure the meager wages, he would make them top managers at the hotel he was about to open. “We worked like donkeys and earned pennies, and in the end, the hotel opened, and we found ourselves out of a job,” they recount about their first lesson in business. Fortunately, Ilan was not accepted into veterinary school that year, so they stayed in Baltimore for another year, hoping to start their studies the following year.

And here, the real story begins that winter. With a snowstorm outside, our two heroes are curled up at home, afraid to stick their noses out, when their good friends from Israel push their way in. “We’re heading to Texas now to sell ice cream from a truck that roams construction sites and neighborhoods. $100 a day,” they told the couple, who earned only $4 an hour. Three days later, Ilan and Michal were already driving a rented truck on their way to Texas. Three days with an 11-month-old baby and without enough money even for a hotel. In Texas, they were given an ice cream truck and started working for $100 a day.

Two months later, Ilan began to understand. “I think the real “killers” are the Golani soldiers with the Mexican food,” he told Michal. “If you drive the Golani truck and I take the ice cream truck, we’ll make a real impact.” Within ten days, Michal had bought a truck from a friend and started driving at four in the morning, loaded with donuts and coffee, to serve breakfast to hungry construction workers at the building sites. On the third day of work, a heavy rainstorm hit, the restaurant owner didn’t show up, and Michal and Ilan began cooking at home and selling food. Michal also learned that if she arrived half an hour earlier than her “greedy” competitors, she could pocket the extra profits.

After eight months, Michal and Ilan managed to save $30,000, but Ilan was not accepted to veterinary school for the second year. They returned to Israel, considered what to do next, and then came across the first catalog of “The Pampering Company,” a delivery service. A friend from Australia, whom they contacted, called and said, “There’s nothing like this here. There aren’t even pizza deliveries.” “Come quickly,” he urged, and they went. “We’ll stay for five years,” they promised their families. It took them two months to acclimate. To avoid wasting time, they set up their sandwich shop at home.

They packed the sandwiches in a beautiful basket and went out in the morning to sell in offices. Later, from 6 PM to 10 PM, they sat by the phone to receive calls for their private service. Within three weeks, we had five drivers and a secretary because we were in the right business at the right time.” Three months later, when their second daughter was born, Michal and Ilan had 25 drivers, 3 secretaries, and about a hundred orders in the evening, averaging $200 with a 30% profit.

A year after they started the business, they were already offered a quarter of a million dollars to exit, and they refused. “We made a mistake,” they sum up that adventure. “We wanted to make money so we could study in peace. We didn’t sell, and soon after, competitors emerged, a recession hit Australia, and another business we started for the morning hours collapsed.”

The other business was a huge warehouse of branded clothes, which the two started together with a couple of friends. The key to success was the arrangement they made with companies that transported buyers to the warehouses, bringing them 15 buses full of women every day. One day, right after Christmas, all the leather jackets were stolen from us. The damage was estimated at $50,000. There was no insurance, and buyers don’t come after Christmas anyway. The business collapsed.”
The delivery business also began to collapse. The recession hit the regular customers, who started going bankrupt one after another, and Michal was then in her third pregnancy.

Michal: “Suddenly, after all the runs to brunch and lunch, there is a day of rest for the whole family, and we don’t talk about work on that day. This is the gift that the banner brought with us from Australia.”

It took them a year to get organized, sell the house and the car, and discover that their partners were exploring their yearning to return to the country in order to take over the business. Thus, two years ago, they landed in the country with four children and a small amount of money. They rented an old house in Caesarea overlooking the sea and began searching for opportunities. They turned to the Center for Entrepreneurial Development, a part of the Chamber of Commerce, showed them examples of the work they had done in Australia, and requested support for six months of living expenses to develop unique future products. The Center assigned them an economic advisor, Dovi Kochava, and they set out on their journey.

Then a new business opportunity came their way. A plastic manufacturer offered them a partnership in marketing foam for flower arrangements. “All we needed was a space and tools to mix the polyurethane, which expands into foam.” They imported 7 tons of the material, designed attractive packaging, and began selling. Soon, they sold everything and quickly ordered another 7 tons of raw material. However, while the material was on its way across the sea, returns started coming in. The quality of the foam was poor and it couldn’t be used for fresh flowers, so they changed its intended use and began marketing it as foam for dried flower arrangements.

A year after they started the foam business, they visited the country and discovered here the colorful sponges designed for children’s bath play. Wet and stick them on porcelain, they brought this idea from the country to Australia as well, brought in a third partner to the business, a big advertising agency owner, and introduced a complete line of products to the Australian market: children’s toys, gifts, and promotional items. They had five agents, and they worked hard, but the five years they had allotted for themselves passed.

“After five years, we stopped. We knew that if we stayed a little longer, we would become permanent residents: the children spoke English at home, and it bothered us a lot. We decided to sell everything and return within a year.” At that time, you began to return to religious observance. How did that happen?

Ilan: “For years, I have been studying Gemara once a week. It started as an intellectual challenge, but events bordering on miracles that happened to us brought me closer to Orthodox Judaism, and I discovered wonderful people. Michal was initially opposed, but she joined me later.”

Their first project, sponge puppets for the bathtub, did not sell very well. They launched a second series, “Play Again,” and targeted the market. This series included games such as five stones, a skipping rope, hopscotch, and three sticks – simple games with modern, colorful designs. The success was better, but it still wasn’t quite right.

Then came the turning point. They decided to go where the masses are, to approach the large companies and offer them gifts and promotional tools, with responsibility for all stages -concept, production, packaging, and delivering the finished gift to the customer on the delivery day, according to their specifications and requirements. Thus, they began designing signs for children’s rooms for ‘Burger Ranch’: “Here lives…, the room of…,” and became one of the main suppliers for the chain. Every month brought a new gift and surprise. Later, they also added clients like ‘Remedia,’ ‘Super-Pharm,’ ‘Pizza Hut,’ ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken,’ Tagliatelle,’ and ‘Elite.’

Although the business was rolling as they wanted, the big blow was still ahead. About eight months ago, a friend from Australia, a puppet designer, arrived in the country and left them with six samples made of polymer clay. The marketing managers of the large companies who saw the samples knew that a hit was brewing here. But a hit, to succeed, needs to be built carefully, with thought and planning. “We decided to make these puppets a hit based on people’s collecting instincts,” explain Ilan and Michal. They planned 34 different characters, placing Jojo Khalastra at the forefront, and thus they became Jojo’s.’

Ilan and Michal Laor’s instincts did not deceive them, as they are already planning beautiful suitcases with white figures for self-coloring. There will be transparent pouches for the Jojo’s, cards, a maze book, medals, mobiles, and more.

“Does this success stress you out?”

“No. We decided not to let it stress us out. After all, everything is in the hands of Heaven,” they say.

– Sima Ella

* These probably refers to 1bis and 7bis.
** Unknown packaging