My Own Business Institute

What My Own Business Institute does

My Own Business Institute (MOBI) is a free online entrepreneurship education initiative operated within Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business and funded by founders Phil and Peggy Holland. Founded in 2015 and celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025, MOBI serves aspiring entrepreneurs and existing small business owners through a self-paced, self-enrolled curriculum delivered via a Moodle-based Learning Management System accessible on web and mobile. The catalog comprises six certificate courses (Starting a Business, Managing a Business, Growing a Business, Quick Start Entrepreneur, Sales and Marketing Badge Course, and Small Business Essentials, each roughly 20 hours), plus a browsable library of 41 business topics available without enrollment. Completers earn a Santa Clara University Certificate of Completion and Digital Badge.

The product surface has been actively expanded in 2025 with five new course sessions (Hiring and Firing, Managing and Motivating Employees, Adapting Your Business for Change, Buying a Franchise, Business Storytelling), a new 'Building Your Business' growth module, and broader rollout of MOBI On Demand audio/video sessions in English with Spanish subtitles. Localization is provided in English, Spanish (International and Mexico), Vietnamese, Traditional Chinese (Standard and Workplace versions), Japanese (Standard and Workplace versions), and Khmer, paired with accessibility features such as dyslexic font and adjustable text sizing. As of the 2025 data, MOBI reports students and alumni from 249 countries.

MOBI operates a product-led growth (PLG) distribution model: learners self-register through courses.myownbusiness.org, with no fees or prerequisites, and the 41 free browsable topics drive organic SEO acquisition. Marketing relies on owned channels — Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, a quarterly newsletter, and blog content produced in part by SCU student interns. Channel partnerships, notably with the Latino Business Foundation Silicon Valley (LBFSV), extend reach into specific entrepreneur segments; the April 24, 2026 LBFSV graduation was featured on Univision. The organization generates no revenue from course delivery; funding is philanthropic from the Holland family, and the entity is a non-profit institute within SCU rather than an independent company.

Name

My Own Business Institute

Legal name

My Own Business Institute (MOBI)

Website

https://myownbusiness.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

My Own Business Institute (MOBI) provides free online entrepreneurship courses and a library of 41 browsable business topics to aspiring and existing small business owners globally. Operated within Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business and funded by founders Phil and Peggy Holland, MOBI serves self-paced learners across 249 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Clara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Free Educational Services: MOBI provides completely free online entrepreneurship education. The organization is funded by the generosity of founders Phil & Peggy Holland, with no revenue generated from course delivery. The organization is part of Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

MOBI provides six free, self-paced online certificate courses covering Starting, Managing, and Growing a Business, plus accelerated Quick Start Entrepreneur, Sales and Marketing Badge, and Small Business Essentials tracks, delivered via a Moodle-based Learning Management System. Learners can earn a Certificate of Completion and Digital Badge from Santa Clara University upon course completion (approximately 20 hours each), with additional free resources including a Business Plan Template and 41 browsable Business Topics accessible without enrollment.

Product overview

My Own Business Institute (MOBI) is a free online entrepreneurship education platform operated by Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business. The core product portfolio consists of six certificate courses organized in a Start-Manage-Grow framework: Starting a Business (foundational launch course), Managing a Business (operations and people management), and Growing a Business (growth strategies), plus three specialized offerings—an accelerated Quick Start Entrepreneur course, a Sales and Marketing Badge Course, and Small Business Essentials. All courses are self-paced, free, and can be completed in approximately 20 hours, with options to earn a Certificate of Completion and/or Digital Badge. A key add-on is MOBI On Demand, providing audio and video learning sessions (marked with ▶️) in English with Spanish subtitles, available throughout the course catalog. Supporting products include a free Business Plan Template, a browsable library of 41 Business Topics (no enrollment required), and Resources & Tools featuring blog posts and alumni success stories. The entire portfolio is free for everyone, forever, funded by founders Phil & Peggy Holland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MOBI On Demand: Audio and video learning sessions available throughout the course catalog, offered in English with Spanish subtitles.
• MOBI en Español

Products and services

• Starting a Business Course Foundational self-paced online course covering the essentials of launching a business, including writing a business plan and financing the business; designed for aspiring entrepreneurs and awardable with a Certificate of Completion and Digital Badge.
• Managing a Business Course Self-paced online course covering business management fundamentals including hiring and firing, employee motivation, adapting to change, buying a franchise, and business storytelling; awardable with a Certificate of Completion and Digital Badge.
• Growing a Business Course Advanced self-paced online course focused on business growth strategies, including the new Building Your Business module; awardable with a Certificate of Completion and Digital Badge.
• Quick Start Entrepreneur Course Accelerated self-paced online course for rapid business launch, designed for aspiring entrepreneurs who want a fast-track introduction to launching a venture.
• Sales and Marketing Badge Course Topic-focused self-paced online course awarding a digital badge in sales and marketing for entrepreneurs seeking to develop go-to-market skills.
• Small Business Essentials Comprehensive self-paced online course covering essential knowledge for small business owners across the start-manage-grow lifecycle.
• MOBI Business Plan Template Free downloadable business plan template tool that helps entrepreneurs structure business planning without enrolling in a course.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Latino Business Foundation Silicon Valley (LBFSV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLBFSV is a key regional partner that offers MOBI courses as part of their Latino Business Academy. LBFSV held a graduation ceremony on April 24, 2026 for students completing MOBI courses, which was featured on Univision evening news. MOBI's Annasofia Zuleta participated in the event. This partnership focuses on serving the Latino entrepreneur community in Silicon Valley.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: 10,000 Small Businesses is a tuition-free, philanthropically funded accelerator for entrepreneurs—a directly comparable model that combines education, credentials, and a cohort experience, validating the same free-credential thesis MOBI rests on.
• Babson College - Entrepreneurship Programs: Babson is globally recognized for entrepreneurship education and offers online certificates, free resources, and curricular content targeting the same aspiring and SMB operator personas as MOBI.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: Coursera hosts entrepreneurship specializations from universities globally with free-audit options, overlapping heavily with MOBI's self-paced online certificate courses while operating at vastly larger scale.
• edX: edX offers free online university courses including business and entrepreneurship tracks from accredited institutions, making it a broad incumbent alternative to MOBI's SCU-branded curriculum.
• MasterClass: MasterClass is a premium creator-led course platform targeting consumer lifelong learners, adjacent to MOBI's offering but positioned at the opposite end of the pricing spectrum (paid premium vs. free).
• Udemy: Udemy is a broad marketplace with thousands of paid and free entrepreneurship and small business courses, competing for the same organic search and self-registration learner traffic as MOBI.
• LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn Learning offers professional online courses including entrepreneurship and small business tracks, leveraging LinkedIn's professional network to distribute credentials—directly paralleling MOBI's Digital Badge play.

Direct peers

• SCORE: SCORE provides free small business mentoring and education via a volunteer network, directly competing with MOBI for aspiring entrepreneurs and existing SMB owners across the U.S. Both share a non-profit, free-distribution model.
• Kauffman Foundation: Kauffman offers free entrepreneur education, research, and online courses targeting the same aspiring and existing business owner segments as MOBI, with similar philanthropic funding and global ambitions.
• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA / SBDC): SBA and its SBDC network deliver free startup and management education (planning, financing, hiring) to the same SMB persona MOBI targets, often serving as the public-sector default for free entrepreneurship training in the U.S.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scu_mobi
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@MyOwnBusinessInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/SCU.MOBI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scu-mobi
• Instagraminstagram.com/scu_mobi
• Pinterestpinterest.com/SCU_MOBI

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about My Own Business Institute