Barbie play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors. During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she
Brent Handler a partner in his entrepreneurial pursuits. Handler knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur from the age of 23 and experienced early business success at Colorado's ExecuTrain, a computer training company. As the company's second employee, he sold millions of dollars' worth of computer training classes, and performed so well the company's owner had difficulty paying his commission. He later became a co-owner of the company. After his initial success at ExecuTrain, and the sale of the company, Handler went on to launch two businesses before finding success in the destination club industry. In 2002, along with his brother Brad