A fifth generation Hoosier and the second of three children of Bruce and Nancy Young, Todd grew up watching his parents work hard in order to support the family. From a young age, Bruce and Nancy instilled Midwestern family values, personal responsibility and a strong work ethic in their children. Todd's first jobs were delivering newspapers, mowing lawns, and providing janitorial services at the family business.

After graduating from high school, Todd enlisted in the U.S. Navy with the goal of attending the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. A year later, he received an appointment from the Secretary of the Navy and was admitted to Annapolis, where he participated in varsity athletics and was elected a class officer. Todd graduated with honors in 1995 and accepted a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps. After training as a rifle platoon commander and service as an intelligence officer, Todd was then assigned to lead a recruiting effort in Chicago and northwest Indiana. During this time, he put himself through night school at the University of Chicago, where he earned his MBA with a concentration in economics.

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. Soon after returning to Indiana, Todd met his future wife, Jenny, and he again put himself through night school, this time earning his JD from Indiana University. They married in 2005, and then worked together at a small law firm in Paoli, Indiana, that was started by Jenny's great-grandfather in 1933. Todd and Jenny currently reside in Johnson County, Indiana, and have four young children- a son, Tucker, and three daughters, Annalise, Abigail and Ava.