After serving a decade in the military, in 2000 Todd was honorably discharged as a Captain.  He then spent a year in England, where he wrote a thesis on the economic history of Midwestern agriculture and earned an MA from the School of Advanced Study in London.  Upon returning to the United States, he accepted a position at The Heritage Foundation and later worked as a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate.

In 2003, Todd returned home to Indiana.  He worked several years as a management consultant, advising public and private organizations how they could implement business practices to provide their constituents and customers with more value, often by investing fewer resources.