MBA in a Box: Business Lessons from a CEO (Udemy.com)
A Complete MBA Training: Business Strategy, Management, Marketing, Accounting, Decision Making & Negotiation
Created by: 365 Careers
Last updated January 2026
Our take
Based on the ratings of 23,592 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in January 2026. No course pays to be reviewed.
This is a survey of five business school subjects packed into 11.5 hours and 185 short lectures: strategy, management, marketing, accounting and negotiation. It is aimed at people with no business background, and the syllabus bears that out. Most sections are a handful of lectures, many of them only a few minutes long. About 131,000 students have enrolled. The title hints at a CEO teaching, and one reviewer was annoyed enough about that to ask where the CEO was, so go in expecting a course company's polished explainer series.
Reviewers like the short, clear videos and say they are easy to take in bite sizes on a phone. One says it helped refresh things they had forgotten, and another used it as a base for deeper study, with ChatGPT quizzing them on each topic. The complaints are few but pointed. A two-star reviewer calls it a monotone reading of a slide deck, and another says the topics lack depth and technicalities. One person quit over the Tesla case study, which they found far too admiring. Another says the details are hard to see unless you watch on a TV screen.
The ratings are strong. Of 23,592 reviews, 13,211 are five stars and 8,130 are four, with only 342 at one or two stars. The course was last updated in January 2026, so it is current. It works best as a first map of business, after which you pick the area you care about and study it elsewhere. Treat it as an overview, not an MBA. Anyone already working in management or finance will find the basics thin.
Pros
- Short lessons, mostly a few minutes each, that reviewers call clear and easy to fit in on a phone
- Covers strategy, management, marketing, accounting and negotiation in one place, across 185 lectures
- Starts from zero with no prerequisites, and reviewers say it also works as a refresher
- Updated in January 2026 and rated 4.6 across more than 23,000 reviews
Cons
- Breadth over depth: one reviewer says the topics lack depth and technical detail
- One reviewer calls the delivery a monotone read-through of slides, so it can feel flat
- The Tesla case study and Tesla marketing section put off at least one reviewer
The videos are clear, concise and brief, giving a clear understanding of concepts.
Built for true beginners. The requirements say no experience is needed, and the pace stays introductory throughout.
What you will learn
- Receive an 'MBA in a Box' certificate of completion
- Acquire the same business acumen as MBA graduates
- How to start a company from scratch
- Understand how a business functions and what makes a company successful
- Get promoted and be ready for a managerial role
- Transition into a career requiring solid business knowledge
- Be able to perform an industry analysis
- Understand what the critical success factors in an industry are
- Carry out SWOT analysis
- Use Michael Porter's Five Forces model
- Apply Game theory in real-life business situations
- Understand what a competitive advantage is and how to acquire it
- Be able to choose one of the three core strategies: Cost leadership, DIfferentiation, and Niche
- Apply best practices when managing people
- Understand how to recruit, select, onboard, develop, and motivate employees
- Carry out effective marketing research
- Perform market segmentation
- Select the right target client group
- Set up the 4 Ps of Marketing in a coherent way
- Calculate Customer-Lifetime-Value
- Understand financials
- Be able to read and prepare the three financial statements - P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow
- Perform financial statement analysis
- Calculate cash flows
- Become a master negotiator
- Enlarge the pie for all negotiating parties
- Have experience and be aware of different negotiating tactics
- Expand the pie for all negotiating parties
Course content
43 sections · 185 lectures · 11 hours of video 26 quizzes, 1 practice test, 1 assignment, 1 article
- 1MBA in a Box: Introduction 1 free preview2 lectures · 7 min
- 2Strategy: An Introduction 3 free previews3 lectures · 1 quiz · 16 min
- 3Strategy: The industry life cycle model 1 free preview6 lectures · 1 quiz · 20 min
- 4Strategy: Porter's Five Forces model - The competitive dynamics in an industry7 lectures · 1 quiz · 25 min
- 5Strategy: Game Theory - Studying the interaction between multiple parties4 lectures · 1 quiz · 8 min
- 6Strategy: Focusing on the inside of a business2 lectures · 1 quiz · 7 min
- 7Strategy: Acquiring a competitive advantage4 lectures · 11 min
- 8Strategy: The three main competitive strategies5 lectures · 1 quiz · 17 min
- 9Strategy: Corporate growth strategies5 lectures · 1 quiz · 16 min
- 10Strategy: The SWOT analysis framework2 lectures · 1 quiz · 7 min
- 11Strategy: Tesla - practical case study12 lectures · 1.2 hours
- 12Management: An Introduction 1 free preview5 lectures · 1 quiz · 16 min
- 13Management: The Planning function7 lectures · 1 quiz · 23 min
- 14Management: The Organization function3 lectures · 1 quiz · 6 min
- 15Management: The Staffing function - Pre-Hire activities3 lectures · 1 quiz · 9 min
- 16Management: The Staffing function - Post-Hire activities5 lectures · 1 quiz · 13 min
- 17Management: The Leading function4 lectures · 1 quiz · 13 min
- 18Marketing: An Introduction 1 free preview4 lectures · 1 quiz · 15 min
- 19Marketing: Building a Marketing Strategy7 lectures · 1 quiz · 29 min
- 20Marketing: How to set up an effective Marketing Mix1 lecture · 1 quiz · 2 min
- 21Marketing: How to set up an effective Marketing Mix - Product decisions5 lectures · 1 quiz · 15 min
- 22Marketing: How to set up an effective Marketing Mix - Pricing decisions3 lectures · 1 quiz · 8 min
- 23Marketing: How to set up an effective Marketing Mix - Place decisions3 lectures · 1 quiz · 9 min
- 24Marketing: How to set up an effective Marketing Mix - Promotion decisions3 lectures · 1 quiz · 7 min
- 25Marketing: How to set up an effective Marketing Mix - A dynamic concept1 lecture · 3 min
- 26Marketing: Marketing strategy in the long run5 lectures · 1 quiz · 19 min
- 27Tesla's marketing6 lectures · 15 min
- 28Accounting: An Introduction3 lectures · 11 min
- 29P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow - The three main financial statements3 lectures · 13 min
- 30Revenue and cost recognition principles - This is how we register financials3 lectures · 7 min
- 31Accounting: The fundamental Accounting principles you will need in business6 lectures · 21 min
- 32A complete Case Study from scratch - Bookkeeping, P&L, and Balance Sheet5 lectures · 35 min
- 33Accounting: Understanding how to calculate cash flow5 lectures · 17 min
- 34Accounting: The importance of timing when registering financials4 lectures · 16 min
- 35Accounting: An introduction to Financial Reporting3 lectures · 12 min
- 36Accounting: Financial statement analysis in practice8 lectures · 31 min
- 37Negotiation: An Introduction 2 free previews3 lectures · 9 min
- 38Negotiation: The negotiation toolbox2 lectures · 1 quiz · 7 min
- 39Negotiation: The importance of preparation3 lectures · 1 quiz · 13 min
- 40Negotiation: Types of negotiation6 lectures · 1 quiz · 24 min
- 41Negotiation subtleties that will help you in the long run5 lectures · 1 quiz · 22 min
- 42Negotiation: A complete Negotiation case study1 lecture · 14 min
- 43Influence: The power of persuasion 1 free preview8 lectures · 29 min
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- People who want a successful career in Business
- Aspiring entrepreneurs
- Start-up founders
- Business executives
- Ambitious managers
- Individuals who want to start their own company, but have not had the necessary business training
- People who want to understand why some businesses are successful
- Business intelligence analysts
What you need before you start
- Absolutely no experience is required. We will start from the basics and gradually build up your knowledge. Everything is in the course.
- A willingness to learn and practice
How it compares
Against the other 1,210 rated Udemy courses in Business on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.6 out of 5higher than 74% of them
- Reviews23,592#25 of 1,211 by number of reviews
- Length11.5 hourslonger than 89% of them
- Last updatedJanuary 2026more recently than 58% of them
Course Description
Welcome to MBA in a box: Business lessons from a CEO!
This is the only online course you need to acquire the business acumen to:
Start up your own business
Grow your existing venture
Take your career to the next level
Get promoted and apply managerial, financial, marketing, decision-making and negotiation skills in the real business world
Have an all-around view of why some companies (and people) succeed when doing business and others do not
This training program covers the same useful information and real-life business know-how MBA graduates acquire throughout their studies in top-tier business schools. We have even made it more interactive by preparing a gamebook for you. Learning business and finance need not be boring! The gamebook will test what you have learned and will simulate a real-world environment in which your decisions as a business executive will have real monetary consequences for a company. Can you think of any better way to reinforce what you have learned?
An exciting journey from A-Z.
If you are a complete beginner and you know nothing about business or finance, don’t worry at all! In each of the five main modules of the course, we start from the very basics and will gradually build up your knowledge. The course contains plenty of real-life examples and case studies that make it easy to understand.
Five modules
MBA in a box is a collection of the five courses that are most frequently taught to MBA students. We have carried out extensive research and explored the curriculums of the most successful MBA programs around the world including Harvard Business School, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, INSEAD, Booth School of Business, London Business School and others. This is the reason the following modules have been included in this program:
Business Strategy
Management and HR Management
Marketing Communications and Marketing Management
Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis
Decision Making, Persuasion, and Negotiation
Teaching is our passion
For over six months, we worked hard to create the best possible MBA course that will deliver the most value for you. We want you to succeed, which is why the course tries to be as engaging as possible. High-quality animations, superb course materials, a gamebook simulation, quiz questions, handouts and course notes, as well as a glossary with new terms are some of the extra perks you will get by subscribing.
What makes this course different from the rest of the Business courses out there?
High-quality production – HD video and animations (This isn’t a collection of boring lectures!)
Knowledgeable instructor (CEO of an 8-digit business)
Complete training – we will cover all major topics and skills you need to become an entrepreneur, a successful investor, or a business executive
Extensive Case Studies that will help you reinforce everything that you’ve learned
Gamebook - solve our Gamebook and make this course an interactive experience to test what you’ve learned while taking the course
Excellent support - if you don’t understand a concept or you simply want to drop us a line, you’ll receive an answer within 1 business day
Dynamic - we don’t want to waste your time! The instructor keeps up a very good pace throughout the whole course
Bonus prizes - upon completion of 50% and 100% of the course, you will receive two bonus gifts
Why do you need these skills?
Salary/Income - it is not a coincidence that MBA graduates earn 40% more than their peers – they have the skills and knowledge that allow them to see the bigger picture. This course will give the same to you – a holistic view of why certain businesses succeed and what needs to be done to improve their performance
Promotions - MBA students acquire valuable technical skills, which makes them the leading candidates for senior roles within corporations
Secure Future - there is a high demand for skilled business executives in the job market, and you won’t have to be concerned about finding a job
This course comes with Udemy's 30 day no-questions-asked money back guarantee. So, you have nothing to lose! Get the course today by clicking the 'Buy now' button. This will be one of the best decisions of your entire career!
Instructor Details
- 4.6 Rating
23,592 Reviews
365 Careers
365 Careers is the #1 best-selling provider of business, finance, data science and AI courses on Udemy. The company’s courses have been taken by more than 4,000,000 students in 210 countries. People working at world-class firms like Apple, PayPal, and Citibank have completed 365 Careers trainings.
Currently, 365 focuses on the following topics on Udemy: 1) Finance – Finance fundamentals, Financial modeling in Excel, Valuation, Accounting, Capital budgeting, Financial statement analysis (FSA), Investment banking (IB), Leveraged buyout (LBO), Financial planning and analysis (FP&A), Corporate budgeting, applying Python for Finance, Tesla valuation case study, CFA, ACCA, and CPA
2) Data science – Statistics, Mathematics, Probability, SQL, Python programming, Python for Finance, Business Intelligence, R, Machine Learning, TensorFlow, Tableau, the integration of SQL and Tableau, the integration of SQL, Python, Tableau, Power BI, Credit Risk Modeling, and Credit Analytics, Data literacy, Product Management, Pandas, Numpy, Python Programming, Data Strategy
3) Entrepreneurship – Business Strategy, Management and HR Management, Marketing, Decision Making, Negotiation, and Persuasion, Tesla's Strategy and Marketing
4) Office productivity – Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Outlook
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Reviews
By Damian Lorenzo on 8/11/2026
Its a wonderful introductory course that gives you a 360 view of how bussinesses operate, recommended for anyone who would like to start to know better bussiness management.
By Danny Venn on 7/30/2026
I am enjoying it very much. 9 hours of video will easily become 100+ hours of studying. Due to the well structured and thoughtfully presented information, I've been able to dive deeper into each topic, using ChatGPT as an examiner. Each topic in the course is clear and consistently well explained, and I am excited to proceed further with my learning into each section as they appear.
By Troy Daley on 7/25/2026
The substance of the course is very enlightening and has touched on several topics I initally needed to know. The additional resources has been very helpful in adapting and the application of what is being taught to my industry .
By Roy Petigrow on 5/28/2026
As someone who has a Dual degree in Business Administration and Information Systems Administration and soon is going to pursue an M&A in Innovative design and Entrepreneurship who is striving for serial entrepreneurship as well, I feel like this course helps me refine my knowledge in business and also help me take those insights into a creative practice.
By Lucille Marcela Lara Perez on 5/15/2026
The course covered a lot of important topics in a variety of fields in a way that was concise and easy to understand, as well as recall. I found this to be very useful in brushing up on my previous knowledge of things I had forgotten.
By Henning Vogt on 3/13/2026
It started off quite ok, but the Tesla promotion / Elon Musk fanboy videos bear an undifferentiated enthusiasm that I would have found dubious already a couple of years ago. Nowadays I find that simply unbearable. Had to stop here.
By Keorapetse K. Manamela on 2/8/2026
This course has great amount of information and detail. The explanations of the various topics are simple enough for anyone to understand. Maybe more applicable quizzes though, to show understanding (Maybe I'll find out more as I progress through it - I'm at 60% Completion)
By Lubna Ndaula on 2/2/2026
Yes it's a good match so far, let me get through the entire course though to confidently state it as I say it doubtedly at this point. Allow me sometime to get sharpened by your wisdom then I chest thump about the good match.
By Rajesh Kumar on 1/21/2026
Excellent Course, very clear and precise explanation for each module. I liked the financial module, being from an engineering background this was very difficult for me, but this course made it very simple and easy to understand. Great resources !
By Sarah Ellis on 1/19/2026
very informative and I have learnt a lot of new topics that will stand me in good stead professionally - some of those topics I will go away and deep dive further.
Quality Score
No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.
Overall Score : 92 / 100












