About Us

MOBI Fuels Dreams and Confidence through Free Online Entrepreneurship Education

MOBI's Curriculum Is Accessible, Understandable, and Actionable

MOBI provides free online entrepreneurship courses to help people around the world learn how to start, manage, and grow their own businesses. We aim to provide a foundation of business and entrepreneurship principles through education that is accessible, understandable, and actionable. The MOBI curriculum makes no assumptions about education level, business experience, or technology expertise. Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a current business owner, or someone looking to enhance your business knowledge, MOBI has something for you. 

MOBI has been located in the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University since 2015. The MOBI team includes MOBI Management: Drew Starbird, Ph.D., Executive Director and Leavey School of Business Professor, Information Systems and Analytics; Trish Kalbas-Schmidt, M.S., Sr. Director, Institute Relations and Program Development; Jill Martin, MBA, Director, Operations and Communications; and Annasofia Zuleta, M.Ed., Operations and Communications Manager. The MOBI team also includes talented Santa Clara University student interns representing a range of academic majors.

(Pictured above left to right are Martin, SCU student intern Jose Cañez ’25, Kalbas-Schmidt, SCU student intern Paulina Ordoñez ’26, SCU student intern Yareli Cruz Arreola ’25, Zuleta, and Starbird.)

Visit MOBI's Management Team, current SCU Student Interns, Advisory Board Members, and Contributors for more information. 

MOBI Students Are Eligible to Earn a Certificate of Completion from Santa Clara University

MOBI’s entrepreneurship education is free for everyone, everywhere. Our curriculum can be pursued in two ways. Users can browse our business topics on our website or they can engage in more structured learning by enrolling in a course. Students who create an account on our learning management system and pursue a course have the opportunity to earn a Certificate of Completion and/or Digital Badge from MOBI and Santa Clara University. 

MOBI Partners with a Wide Range of Organizations around the World to Provide Entrepreneurship Education

MOBI partners with organizations to bring free entrepreneurship education to those who need and want it most. These organizations utilize MOBI’s curriculum and free, proven, 24x7 online learning platform to complement existing programming or add a new entrepreneurship component to their offerings.

To date, MOBI has partnered with over 120 organizations in the US and worldwide. MOBI partners include economic and community development organizations, municipal organizations, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), vocational training programs, employment assistance and readiness initiatives, community colleges, higher education institutions and Extension programs, and high schools. 

Like MOBI's content and curriculum, MOBI partnerships are free, with the understanding that the curriculum is also provided for free. Visit our Partnerships page to learn more.

MOBI began in 1992, sparked by the riots in Los Angeles (LA) that devastated communities. Successful entrepreneur Phil Holland and his wife Peggy, a school teacher and administrator, saw the fires burning from their home and were inspired to take action.

They felt entrepreneurship could help revitalize the community, creating businesses, jobs, and growth. They developed a curriculum and hung flyers around South Central LA promoting a free business course at the Compton Job Training Center. In 2015 as they approached retirement, the Hollands selected Santa Clara University to steward their vision into the future, providing a generous endowment to ensure it would remain accessible and free. Visit the Our Story page of our website to learn more about MOBI's history. 

Located in the Leavey School of Business, MOBI is a community engagement initiative dedicated to its mission of fueling dreams and confidence through free entrepreneurship education and to supporting the University's strategic priorities of Reach on a Global Scale and Solutions for the Universal Good. MOBI also supports the Leavey PLUS (Partnership, Leadership, Unity, and Sustainability) strategic priorities by forging global partnerships, by empowering individuals to become leaders through entrepreneurship, and by supporting inclusion and sustainability through worldwide accessible, free education. 

Email:	scu-mobi@scu.edu
Mailing Address:	My Own Business Institute (MOBI) Leavey School of Business, Lucas Hall Santa Clara University 500 El Camino Real Santa Clara, CA 95053
Phone:	408.551.3549