How Business Really Works
Understand core MBA concepts through practical real-world scenarios. Learn how leading companies make money, outmaneuver rivals, read financial statements, and allocate capital.
Like Duolingo, but for How Business Really Works. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
21 levels across 3 sections, about 42 minutes end to end, roughly 8 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Value Engine; Competitive Strategy and Pricing; and Operations, Capital, and Execution. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in How Business Really Works
- Delighting users solves their problem (value creation) but does not automatically bring in cash
- A business must actively capture a share of that value through pricing or monetization to cover its own costs
- A customer will never pay more than what the solution is worth to them, which caps the price
- A business cannot sustainably price below what it costs to produce and deliver the unit
- Profit is the retained slice between the selling price and the cost to deliver
- Unit economics look at whether a single transaction generates or loses cash on its direct costs
- Selling more units of a product with negative unit margins just magnifies the total losses and drains cash faster
- Customer lifetime value must be significantly higher than the cost to acquire them to leave room for overhead and profit
- When acquisition cost exceeds lifetime earnings per customer, every newly acquired customer destroys capital
- Top-line revenue is mathematically determined by only three factors: total customers, transaction size (price), and purchase frequency
- Cutting operational expenses or negotiating cheaper supplies improves profit margins, but does not increase top-line revenue
- Revenue is recorded when sales are made, even if customers haven't paid cash yet
- Expenses can be accounted for without an immediate cash outflow
- A business can be profitable on paper while facing an empty bank account
- Assets represent economic resources owned by the business
- Liabilities represent what the business owes to outside lenders and creditors
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives How Business Really Works the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
A free app has millions of happy users who love it daily, but it shuts down after a year. What went wrong?
Get it right to open this lesson and 20 more in the app.
How to learn How Business Really Works, step by step
Go in order. 21 short levels across 3 sections, about 42 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
The Value Engine
- Making the Core Unit Profitable
- Reading Financial Reality
- 2
Competitive Strategy and Pricing
- Building Sustainable Moats
- Capturing Value with Pricing
- 3
Operations, Capital, and Execution
- Fixing Operational Bottlenecks
- Allocating Capital and Resources
- Designing Incentives and Organization
3 sections · 7 units · 21 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about How Business Really Works
How do I learn How Business Really Works?
Go in order: start with The Value Engine, then Competitive Strategy and Pricing, then Operations, Capital, and Execution. On Tomo that's 21 short levels, about 42 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for How Business Really Works?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. How Business Really Works is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the How Business Really Works course free?
Yes. How Business Really Works is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn How Business Really Works?
21 levels across 3 sections, about 42 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start How Business Really Works?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
How Business Really Works is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start How Business Really Works today.
Download Tomo, search How Business Really Works, and play your first lesson in under a minute.