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Time of India
23-04-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Beloved toy company founder who helped millions of kids learn to read dies by assisted suicide, leaving legacy of literacy; who is he and why did he take this step?
Mike Wood , founder of LeapFrog Enterprises , the firm that revolutionized how children learn to read, has died by physician assisted suicide at the age of 72, as per a report. Wood died on April 10 in Dignitas , a nonprofit assisted dying center in Zurich, Switzerland, in the presence of family members, The New York Times reported. Why Mike Wood Chose Physician-Assisted Suicide His brother, Tim shared that Wood was suffering from Alzheimer's and so he had decided to end his life before the disease could progress too far, according to the report. Switzerland permits assisted dying, but only if the person who's making the request is of sound mind and not driven by selfish reasons, like for money, according to Daily Mail. Clinics like Dignitas, the country's most famous clinic where hundreds of people have died in the past 20 years, has strict rules that its clients must be terminally ill, suffering extreme pain or living with an 'unendurable disability', reported Daily Mail. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like When Every Gram Matters Trek Kit India Buy Now Undo LeapFrog's Success and Growth A pioneer of children's learning, Wood's innovation has reached millions of homes, infinite classrooms, and a whole generation of readers. His foray into this industry wasn't an intentional career choice, but it was his experience as a dad, worrying for his young son, that led him to create this global toy company, as per Daily Mail. When Wood noticed that his then three-year-old son, Mat, knew the alphabet but could not pronounce the letter sounds, he was concerned that if his child lagged as a reader, he would forever struggle, as per the report. His concern about his son's learning, led him to make a prototype of an electronic toy that played sounds when children squeezed plastic letters and then he developed the Phonics Desk in 1995, according to Daily Mail. Live Events LeapFrog's success attracted investors such as Michael Milken and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, as per the report. In 1997, their education firm, Knowledge Universe, acquired a majority stake in LeapFrog for millions of dollars, investing in product development, reported Daily Mail. With this capital, Wood bought a company that assisted in developing the LeapPad, which he demanded be no more than $49 for Toys R Us customers, according to the report. Wood's Continued Impact On Children Even though the company was very successful, Wood had decided to step down from his position in the toy company in 2004 at the age of 51, as per Daily Mail. Wood then, founded and sold another reading education company, Smarty Ants , an online learning program, as per the report. Recently, he had volunteered as a reading teacher at a school near his home, where more than half of the students are classified by the state of California as socioeconomically disadvantaged, reported Daily Mail. FAQs Where did Mike Wood die? Wood died at Dignitas, a nonprofit assisted dying clinic in Zurich, Switzerland, as per a report. Why did Mike Wood choose to end his life? Wood chose to end his life before his Alzheimer's progressed further.
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Founder of Leapfrog toy company dies by assisted suicide amid struggle with Alzheimer's
The founder of an innovative toy company that taught millions of children how to read has died by physician-assisted suicide. Mike Wood, the founder of LeapFrog Enterprises, was pronounced dead at Dignitas - a nonprofit organization that provides assisted suicide in Switzerland - surrounded by his family on April 10, according to The New York Times. He was 72 years old and was suffering from Alzheimer's. He had made the decision to end his life before the condition progressed too far, his brother, Tim, told the outlet. LeapFrog also shared news of Wood's passing, and described him as 'an innovative leader whose passion to find a new way to help children learn led to something remarkable. 'His passion was transformed into a company that has helped millions of children learn to read and so much more. 'We loved working with Mike and are honored to continue what he started,' the company said in a statement. 'We extend our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues and all who were touched by his legacy.' Swiss law allows people to help others to die as long as their motives are not selfish, such as for financial gain. The 1941 legislation states that the person wishing to die must be of sound mind, but they do not need to be terminally ill or have any medical conditions. The country's assisted suicide clinics are non-profit organizations. Wood was born on September 1, 1952 in northern California to a Michael Webster Wood, a building contractor, and Anne (Matthewson) Wood, and was raised in Orinda, east of Berkeley. He attended Miramonte High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1974. The inventor would then go on to earn a Masters of Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California Hastings Collee of the Law - now known as University of California Law San Francisco). Wood then spent several years working as an attorney. But it was his personal life that inspired him to create the global toy company. He was just a young father when he noticed that his toddler was struggling to read. Wood would later explain that his then three-year-old son, Mat, knew the alphabet but could not pronounce the letter sounds. Wood was concerned that if his child lagged as a reader, he would forever struggle - and set off to create a prototype of an electronic toy that played sounds when children squeezed plastic letters. He based the idea on greeting cards that play music when opened, and worked with engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and an education professor at Stanford to eventually develop the Phonics Desk - which was released in 1995. Update@ The company shared news of Wood's passing, describing him as 'an innovative leader whose passion to find a new way to help children learn led to something remarkable' The success of the product attracted the attention of investors Michael R Milken and Larry Ellison - the founder of the software company Oracle. The education company they founded, Knowledge Universe, then bought a majority stake in LeapFrog in 1997 - bringing in millions of dollars to develop new products. With the extra funds, Wood acquired a company that developed the prototype of what became the LeapPad, which he insisted be sold for no more than $49 at Toys R Us stores across the U.S. It was a blue and green clamshell that held interactive spiral-bound storybooks. Children could then use a pointer to touch a word or an item in the story to hear it spelled or sounded aloud. The LeapPad became the best selling toy of the 2000 holiday season, and soon the company started developing other products to teach children other topics like geography and math. By 2001, the reading devices and programs were in 2,500 schools - and the following year, LeapFrog products were in nine million homes. When the company went public in January of that year with shares at $13, it soared almost 99 per cent - becoming the best IPO of the year. Former colleagues remembered the innovator as a demanding entrepreneur who was driven by a belief that technology could help the 'LeapFrog generation' gain an educational advantage. Chris D'Angelo, Leapfrog's former executive director of entertainment, explained how employees would often joke about Wood's 'famously fluffy hair'. 'When stressed, he'd unconsciously rub his head - and the higher the hair, the higher the stakes,' D'Angelo recounted. 'We (quietly) called them "high hair days." 'It was funny, but also telling,' he continued, saying Wood 'felt everything deeply - our work, our mission, our audience'. Price: He insisted the products be sold for no more than $49 at Toys R Us stores across the US Wood ultimately stepped down from his successful company in 2004 at the age of 51. By then, LeapFrog products were available in six languages and more than 25 countries around the world, the San Francisco Gate reported at the time. When the Wall Street Journal asked about his decision to leave LeapFrog years later, Wood explained: 'In 2003, we had 1000 employees, $650million in revenue, $60million in earnings and I had a headache every day. 'There would be four or five problems on my desk every day that had no good answer - you had to pick the least worst answer.' Still, Wood's entrepreneurial spirit continued - and he went on to found and sell another reading education company, Smarty Ants, an online learning program. In more recent years, Wood would volunteer as a reading teacher at a school near his home, where more than half of the students are classified by the state of California as socioeconomically disadvantaged. 'He went on eBay and bought a ton of the products he'd developed and brought them into the classrooms,' Bob Lally, cofounder of LeapFrog, told the Times. 'He'd have pizza parties for the kids. He loved going to that school and teaching the kids.' Wood is now survived by his wife, Leslie Harlander, his high school sweetheart whom he married in 2021, along with his brothers, Tim, Denis, his son, Mat, and three grandchildren.
New York Post
23-04-2025
- Business
- New York Post
LeapFrog founder Mike Wood dies by assisted suicide amid Alzheimer's battle: report
The creator of the beloved educational electronic toy company LeapFrog has died by way of physician-assisted suicide, according to a report. Mike Wood, 72, decided to end his life on April 10 after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and did not want the disease to progress further, his brother told The New York Times. A doctor with the nonprofit organization Dignitas in Switzerland performed the procedure as the entrepreneur was surrounded by his family in Zürich — a city located about 80 miles from the capital of Bern. 5 LeapFrog Enterprise CEO Mike Wood holds Little Leap, one of the company's educational toys, in the company's headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., on Feb. 5, 2003. AP 'We are saddened by the loss of LeapFrog founder, Mike Wood. He was an innovative leader whose passion to find a new way to help his child learn led to something remarkable,' LeapFrog Enterprises wrote in a statement on Instagram. 'His passion was transformed into a company that has helped millions of children learn to read, and so much more. We loved working with Mike and are honored to continue what he started.' Under Swiss law, assisted suicide is only considered a crime if the motive is selfish — meaning it can't be performed for scenarios like financial gain through inheritance. Assisting someone to kill themselves unlawfully can be punishable by up to five years in jail. Wood, a California native, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1974 and later received a law degree from the University of California Law San Francisco — Hastings College of the Law — and worked as an attorney for several years. However, when he became a father, his 3-year-old son, Mat, struggled with reading and pronouncing the sounds of letters, according to The New York Times. 5 The Dignitas assisted suicide clinic, in Zurich, Switzerland. Shutterstock The young father, worried his struggles with reading would continue as he got older, began working on an innovative prototype that would later become a best-selling toy across the US. Basing his invention on Musical greeting cards, Wood created LeapFrog — an electronic toy that pronounced the sounds of plastic letters when a child interacted with it. With the help of engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and an education professor at Stanford, he founded LeapFrog Enterprises in 1995 and began manufacturing the Phonics Desk to help connect letters and sounds for young children. In 1997, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and investor Michael R. Milken were so impressed by LeapFrog that they bought the majority stake through their American educational services company, Knowledge Universe. 5 Wood, a California native, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1974 and later received a law degree from the University of California Law San Francisco. WireImage for LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. Knowledge Universe brought in millions, allowing Wood's company to invent new educational toys. With the influx of cash flow, Wood acquired a company to develop the LeapFrog — an easy-to-use computer that resembled a book, with early touch screen technology, with interactive pages that, when pressed, would spell or sound out words for children within the storybooks that could be inserted inside. Wood also insisted that the toy be sold for no more than $49 across the US, LeapFrog's former president of the SchoolHouse Division, Bob Lally, wrote in a piece honoring Wood's legacy. 'His vision of how this technology and his relentless drive to get the retail cost below $50 was the key to LeapFrog's success as the LeapPad launched the following year to amazing success,' Lally wrote. 5 LeapFrog was one of the top selling toys in to early 2000s. AP The LeapFrog became the best-selling toy of the 2000 holiday season, which propelled the company into creating other educational toys, including devices that helped with math and geography. In 2001, LeapFrog products were in nine million homes and thousands of schools. By 2008, more than 30 million LeapPads and related products had been sold globally, according to The New York Times. Leapfrog's former executive director of entertainment, Chris D'Angelo, wrote that Wood was 'demanding, but he brought out the best in us.' 'I can still hear him say, 'This is an A. How can we make it an A+?' We'd all grumble and go back to the drawing board—but always returned with something better,' D'Angelo wrote. 5 In 2023, his daughter-in-law, Emily Wood, posted a TikTok video of Mr. Wood teaching her daughter to use a forerunner of the LeapPad. 'He taught me that extra effort is worth it when you're chasing a huge vision. He helped shape who I am as a creator, a leader, and a person.' Wood stepped down from his company in 2004 but 'continued his commitment to early childhood education by founding yet another company, SmartyAnts,' Lally wrote. He also spent years as a volunteer reading teacher at a school near his home in California. Wood told the Wall Street Journal in 2014 that he retired due to the stress running a major company brought with it. 'In 2003, we had 1,000 employees, $650 million in revenue, $60 million in earnings, and I had a headache every day. There would be four or five problems on my desk every day that had no good answer — you had to pick the least worst answer.' Wood is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Leslie Harlander, his brothers, Tim and Denis, his son, Mat, and three grandchildren.
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
LeapFrog founder dies by assisted suicide as he's hailed for toy creations that helped millions learn to read
The founder of an innovative toy company that taught millions of children how to read has died by physician assisted suicide. Mike Wood, the founder of LeapFrog Enterprises, was pronounced dead at Dignitas - a nonprofit organization that offers physician assisted suicide in Zurich - surrounded by his family on April 10, according to the New York Times. He was 72 years old and was suffering from Alzheimer's. He had made the decision to end his life before the condition progressed too far, his brother, Tim, told the newspaper. LeapFrog also shared news of Wood's passing, describing him as 'an innovative leader whose passion to find a new way to help children learn led to something remarkable. 'His passion was transformed into a company that has helped millions of children learn to read and so much more. 'We loved working with Mike and are honored to continue what he started,' the company said in a statement. 'We extend our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues and all who were touched by his legacy.' Wood was born on September 1, 1952 in northern California to a Michael Webster Wood, a building contractor, and Anne (Matthewson) Wood, and was raised in Orinda, east of Berkeley. He attended Miramonte High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1974. The inventor would then go on to earn a Masters of Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California Hastings Collee of the Law - now known as University of California Law San Francisco). Wood then spent several years working as an attorney. But it was his personal life that inspired him to create the global toy company. He was just a young father when he noticed that his toddler was struggling to read. Wood would later explain that his then three-year-old son, Mat, knew the alphabet but could not pronounce the letter sounds. Wood was concerned that if his child lagged as a reader, he would forever struggle - and set off to create a prototype of an electronic toy that played sounds when children squeezed plastic letters. He based the idea on greeting cards that play music when opened, and worked with engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and an education professor at Stanford to eventually develop the Phonics Desk - which was released in 1995. The success of the product attracted the attention of investors Michael R Milken and Larry Ellison - the founder of the software company Oracle. The education company they founded, Knowledge Universe, then bought a majority stake in LeapFrog in 1997 - bringing in millions of dollars to develop new products. With the extra funds, Wood acquired a company that developed the prototype of what became the LeapPad, which he insisted be sold for no more than $49 at Toys R Us stores across the US. It was a blue and green clamshell that held interactive spiral-bound storybooks. Children could then use a pointer to touch a word or an item in the story to hear it spelled or sounded aloud. The LeapPad became the best selling toy of the 2000 holiday season, and soon the company started developing other products to teach children other topics like geography and math. By 2001, the reading devices and programs were in 2,500 schools - and the following year, LeapFrog products were in nine million homes. When the company went public in January of that year with shares at $13, it soared almost 99 percent - becoming the best IPO of the year. Former colleagues of his remembered the innovator as a demanding entrepreneur who was driven by a belief that technology could help the 'LeapFrog generation' gain an educational advantage. Chris D'Angelo, Leapfrog's former executive director of entertainment, for example, described in The Bloom Report - a toy industry news site - how the employees would often joke about Wood's 'famously fluffy hair.' 'When stressed, he'd unconsciously rub his head - and the higher the hair, the higher the stakes,' D'Angelo recounted. 'We (quietly) called them "high hair days." 'It was funny, but also telling,' he continued, saying Wood 'felt everything deeply - our work, our mission, our audience.' Wood ultimately stepped down from his successful company in 2004 at the age of 51. By then, LeapFrog products were available in six languages and more than 25 countries around the world, the San Francisco Gate reported at the time. When the Wall Street Journal asked about his decision to leave LeapFrog years later, Wood explained: 'In 2003, we had 1000 employees, $650 million in revenue, $60 million in earnings and I had a headache every day. 'There would be four or five problems on my desk every day that had no good answer - you had to pick the least worst answer.' Still, Wood's entrepreneurial spirit continued - and he went on to found and sell another reading education company, Smarty Ants, an online learning program. In more recent years, Wood would volunteer as a reading teacher at a school near his home, where more than half of the students are classified by the state of California as socioeconomically disadvantaged. 'He went on eBay and bought a ton of the products he'd developed and brought them into the classrooms,' Bob Lally, cofounder of LeapFrog, told the Times. 'He'd have pizza parties for the kids. He loved going to that school and teaching the kids.' Wood is now survived by his wife, Leslie Harlander, his high school sweetheart whom he married in 2021, along with his brothers, Tim, Denis, his son, Mat, and three grandchildren.
