Welcome to the newest edition of MOBI’s Newsletter. With each issue we reach out to our students, alumni, partners, and readers to share important highlights from the My Own Business Institute at the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. We hope you will enjoy these updates and continue your relationship with MOBI on your path toward entrepreneurship!

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Thank you from MOBI!

On November 11, 2025 MOBI celebrated its 10th Anniversary at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business with a reception attended by MOBI founder Phil Holland’s daughter Lisa Holland, his granddaughter Dr. Sheryl Rathfelder and her husband Daniel Gervais, along with Claudia Peters, the President and CEO of the original My Own Business Inc. Several MOBI partners, community friends, and Santa Clara University colleagues, including President Julie Sullivan and Provost and Executive Vice President James Glaser, were also in attendance. A brief program included remarks by Glaser, Peters, Leavey School of Business Dean Ed Grier, MOBI Executive Director Drew Starbird, Ph.D., and MOBI Sr. Director Trish Kalbas-Schmidt.

We extend our most sincere gratitude to all who have supported MOBI over the past ten years, and since our founding in 1992. Our online learning community and partners around the world inspire us every day to fulfill Phil and Peggy Holland’s vision—by providing accessible free online entrepreneurship education, we aim to fuel dreams and confidence and support the creation of businesses, jobs, and community growth. 

He began teaching in 1987 after completing his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics at Cornell University. Drew assumed leadership of MOBI when it first came to SCU as a gift from Phil and Peggy Holland. In fact, while he was Dean he received the email inquiring about the possibility of a collaboration between My Own Business Inc. and SCU. Drew likes to remember, “It was the best email I ever received.” Drew has guided MOBI on a path of continued growth, impact, and achievement as Executive Director.

He plans to remain on the Advisory Board to continue to lend his expertise and insights. The MOBI team will miss his daily presence, leadership, and good humor, and we wish him all the best in a very well earned retirement.

Each year MOBI conducts a survey of all Certificate of Completion holders to update our data regarding entrepreneurship plans, industry trends, and the demographics of our students. This valuable information helps us with our strategic planning to best serve our online learners. This year, we sent surveys to 15,803 Certificate recipients and received 703 responses for a 4.4% response rate. Here are some results from the survey.

Over 25% of Certificate holders are under 30 years old, and over half are under 40 years old. Women comprise 54% of those who responded. About 25% of respondents identified themselves as Black or African American, about 22% identified themselves as White, and about 16% identified themselves as Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. In addition, about 23% of respondents identified themselves as Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish origin. The responses reflect the diversity of MOBI students and the absence of implicit barriers to accessibility.

Many of the certificate holders have started a business or plan to start a business in the next two years. About 57% have already started a business and another 37% plan to start a business in the future. The most common type of established businesses are Business and Professional Services (21%), Retail and Online Sales (12%), and Personal Services (9%). Nearly half of the businesses started by respondents have created jobs for others in their communities.

Finally, 92% of respondents would “recommend MOBI to a friend or colleague.”

Thank you to everyone who responded to this year’s survey and provided your valuable feedback!

MOBI Executive Director Drew Starbird, Ph.D., led a research study to investigate the risk of food insecurity at the neighborhood level. Martha’s Kitchen Executive Director Bill Lee assembled a coalition of food service providers including Martha's Kitchen, Loaves and Fishes, Veggielution, The Health Trust, and Catholic Charities, and the coalition supported the study to gain important insights to make data-driven decisions in their services.

MOBI’s SCU student intern Paulina Ordoñez ’26 assisted with the project, creating an interactive map showing the risk of food insecurity by ZIP code. Drew and Paulina unveiled the report and map at the grand opening of Martha’s Kitchen’s new Food Hub on October 15. For more information read the full blog post written by Paulina and posted here on our website. 

MOBI Partners are an important part of the MOBI program! By forming partnerships with diverse communities of students around the world, MOBI can inspire entrepreneurship in ways that best meet the specific opportunities of each group, and always for free. In this newsletter, we feature graduation events from three of our amazing partners.

The Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County (EDASC) celebrated its summer cohort of “EDASC: Escuela para comenzar un negocio” students. EDASC is an organization that provides a variety of services and programs to support businesses and entrepreneurs to promote economic vitality and enhance the overall economic health of Skagit County, WA. EDASC collaborates with MOBI to develop a program specifically tailored for entrepreneurs and micro business owners in Skagit County that is available in both English and Spanish to serve its target market of individuals within the Latino community who are either in the early stages of starting their own business or seeking assistance to improve their existing business. Photos provided by EDASC.

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Jail to Jobs in Cedar Park, TX celebrated its second cohort of students participating in the “Transformative Ventures: Launching Careers through Entrepreneurship” program, provided in collaboration with MOBI. Jail to Jobs is a nonprofit founded in 2009 to serve Central Texas juvenile detention facilities, empowering youthful offenders to find purpose and personal growth through a holistic strategy including entrepreneurship education, employment-based mentoring, and training along with spiritual and character development to reduce recidivism. We thank Cornellus Craft, Jail to Jobs Williamson County Coordinator, for sharing these photos and for joining us at our Advisory Board Meeting and 10th Anniversary Reception. It was wonderful to meet you in person! Photos provided by Cornellus Craft.

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Latino Business Foundation Silicon Valley held its fall 2025 graduation celebration at Santa Clara University on November 19, honoring 68 participants of its “Mujeres Imparables” (Unstoppable Women program who completed the “Lanzamiento y Gestión Básica para Pequeños Negocios” (Launch and Manage: Essentials for Small Businesses) course, provided in English and Spanish featuring MOBI’s curriculum. It was fitting that the event was held on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, and speakers at the event included California State Assemblymember Ash Kalra, San Jose Vice Mayor Pam Foley, Santa Clara County Supervisor District 1 Sylvia Arenas, LBFSV President and CEO Jesus Flores and LBFSV Vice President Angelica Flores. 

The event was also attended by President Fabiola Bribiesca and Director Lucero Medrano of OMD Organización Nal para el Fortalecimiento y Empoderamiento de la Mujer (OMD-National Organization for the Strengthening and Empowerment of Women) in Mexico. Photos copied from LBFSV's social media post.

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For more information about MOBI Partners visit our Partnerships Page. Learn more about our three partnership levels by viewing our Partner Comparison Chart. Interested in becoming a MOBI partner? Submit a Partnership Request.

Lauren shared her Question Lens™ and discussed strategies to Ask Better Questions, Reveal Deeper Truth, and Lead with Clarity. Lauren’s Question Lens consists of six key parts: Open Ended Questions, Specific Follow Up, Clarifying Questions, Active Listening, Reflective Questions, and Share a Little of Yourself—or OSCARS. Huge thanks to Lauren for sharing her wisdom!  

The MOBI Fall Advisory Board Meeting also featured insights on Cooperative Extension, shared by MOBI partner Terence Norwood, Alabama A&M University (AAMU) State Specialist for Community and Economic Development, Team Leader, and Community Resource Development Program (CRD). During his presentation, Terence shared that, “Community Resource Development is about bringing people together to use local talents, ideas, and resources to improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities. By focusing on entrepreneurship, workforce development, and leadership, these programs help build stronger economies and create lasting positive change.” 

Through their programming and collaboration with MOBI and other resources, Terence and Alabama Extension at Alabama A&M University aim to build stronger communities through entrepreneurship. He highlighted the Birmingham Community Incubator Program, and collaboration with the Salvation Army, Operation Hope, and East Lake Initiative to provide a six-week business boot camp for local start-ups. We thank Terence for joining us in person, sharing his insights, the incredible work of AAMU Extension, and the inspiration!

Here are some events from the past few months.

Along with the 10th Anniversary celebration event, MOBI also held its Fall Advisory Board Meeting on November 11. We had many special guests and we would like to thank everyone who attended and made it such a collaborative and memorable meeting. We’d like to recognize guests: Lauren Ready (guest speaker) and Katey Perkins from Forever Ready Productions LLC; Terence Norwood from Alabama A&M University (guest speaker); Cornellus Craft from MOBI partner Jail to Jobs, Solomon Bellete from MOBI partner USAFI; Jesus Flores and Stephanie Flores Aguilar from MOBI partner LBFSV; Long Le from the Leavey School of Business; Porter Wong from MOBI partner Clean Leap; and Dora Beyer from Excite Credit Union. (Pictured from left to right: MOBI SCU student intern Jeffrey Leon ’28, Norwood, MOBI’s Annasofia Zuleta, MOBI’s Jill Martin, MOBI’s Drew Starbird, Bellette, MOBI’s Trish Kalbas-Schmidt, MOBI Advisory Board Member Tanya Monsef, Craft, Beyer, and MOBI SCU student intern Paulina Ordoñez ’26.)

Nonprofit organization Yacanex Community hosted its 9th annual Latina Emprendedora conference for women entrepreneurs on October 18, 2025. This year the event set a new record with 150 women participating, 67% of whom are new entrepreneurs.

A celebration of empowerment and growth, Latina Emprendedora has evolved over the years, offering programming and workshops in Spanish designed to inspire and support Latina women who lead their own businesses or are taking their first steps in entrepreneurship. Yacanex Community is a MOBI partner founded by MOBI Advisory Board member Yacanex Posadas.

Watch MOBI Executive Director Drew Starbird, Ph.D. cover MOBI’s 2025 highlights Gen Z Style in our latest team video featuring the beautiful Santa Clara University campus.

We wish you good health and all the best in business success in the new year!

The MOBI Team