Frequently asked questions

General

• What is a social impact startup?

  Social impact startups are founded by entrepreneurs interested in creating a business for greater social good and prioritise the benefit to society over the sole target of making a profit.

• What is an ‘Alternative MBA’?

  Alternative MBAs are a category of business education created by private sector companies who believe they can provide a better service than traditional university courses.

  Roadmap MBA is an alternative MBA business course which provides the real world skills to help you grow a business or progress your career. This is a private sector business course and not associated or accredited by any university or third party or imply any level of learning equivalent to an OfQal qualification.

• Why do we offer a FREE tier?

  Nearly half the world lives on less than $6 a day. We have built our business so that the members who choose to pay cover the costs of those who can’t, supporting millions of people who otherwise do not have access to traditional forms of business education.

• What do we think of traditional education?

  We love education in all forms. We love universities. We love business schools. We love people being able to access information to build a better life for themselves. We hate people being excluded or unable to access this support.

• Why choose this over Udemy / Skillshare / others?

  Many of these providers have 200,000+ courses, but how do you know which course to choose (or in which order)? With the Roadmap MBA we provide everything you need in one place. One course providing everything you need and nothing you don’t.

• Why choose this over The Power MBA / Mini MBA in Marketing / altMBA / others?

  All are great courses, but most don’t have a FREE option for people who can’t afford to pay, unfairly disadvantaging people from poorer backgrounds.

• How do we compare to challenger universities / accredited degree courses?

  If you want an accredited degree course that is not what the Roadmap alternative MBA offers. If you need the accredited degree there are lots of excellent options out there. The skills you will learn from the Roadmap MBA will still help you whichever course you do and also throughout your career once you graduate.

Pricing & Payment

• Can I try before I buy?

  Yes. Sign up for the FREE tier and you will be able to scroll through the complete course and see all of the content and see if it is right for you.

  If you want more support, from the LIVE classroom sessions (held on Zoom), the physical book, plus the chance to pay it forward and help others, plus the carbon offset, the option is there to upgrade.

• How much does Roadmap MBA cost?

  We have four pricing tiers:

  1) Completely FREE – gaining unlimited access to all of the pre-recorded materials via the website or app. No ads. No selling your data. No catch.

  2) £299 (including VAT) for 12 months access – gaining access to all of the pre-recorded materials, 12 months of LIVE classroom sessions, a PDF version of the Roadmap MBA book, Buy One Gift One, plus an amount of carbon offset to cover the course, plus a digital certificate on completion.

  3) £399 (including VAT) for 12 months access – gaining access to all of the pre-recorded materials, 12 months of LIVE classroom sessions, the Roadmap MBA printed book, Buy One Gift One, plus an amount of carbon offset to cover the course, plus a certificate on completion.

  4) £599 (including VAT) for 12 months access – this includes everything from the £599 tier, but allows the donation of up to 40 digital courses to people around the world, 4x more carbon offset, extra classroom sessions, plus a personalised special copy of the Roadmap MBA book signed by the author as a thank you for helping us support the community.

• Does payment auto-renew?

  No. Never. Just simple clear pricing with no annoying recurring payments.

• Can I pay monthly?

  We are working on bringing this service as quick as we can.

• Can I cancel?

  FREE members can cancel anytime by closing their account.

  Paid Tier members can cancel and request a full refund within 30 days of purchase.

  Upon return receipt of all provided materials undamaged and unused, a full refund will be issued. Return postage must be paid for by the user.  If the physical course materials are not returned, or they are damaged or used, a partial refund will be issued. We are also unable to cancel the carbon offset if it has already been paid for. Any questions can be sent to support@RoadmapMBA.com

The Course

• How do I know if this is right for me?

  If you have ambitions to run your own business, you want to learn some new skills, or you’re in your career and looking to progress, this course is for you.

• Are all modules included?

  Yes. For both Free and Paid Tiers every module is included in every plan.

• What are the LIVE classroom sessions?

  LIVE classroom sessions are a brilliant way to walk through the content in a LIVE online classroom environment where you have the ability to ask questions and we can tailor support. These are held on Zoom and you can dial in from anywhere in the world.

  Paid Tier members get access to all classroom sessions for a period of 12 months.

• How can I join the LIVE classroom sessions?

  For Paid or gifted members, via your dashboard (when you log into the site) you will be able to see the full course timetable, including links to join the sessions.

• How many intakes do we do a year?

  12.

  LIVE classroom sessions run in a 16 week rotation; one week per module; however you can join anytime.

  Paid members can join ANY SESSION for 12 months from the point of purchase, with the option to dip-in or out as much as they wish.

  Free members can join any time and work through the course as quickly as they like.

• How much time does it take?

  Learn in as quick as 2 minutes. You can complete the course as quick as 4 weeks with no requirement on hours per week.

• Do I get a certificate?

  Paid members do get a certificate demonstrating the and their 40 hours of Continued Professional Development (CPD) on completion of the course.

• How are our teaching methods different?

  Most courses teach theory, asking students to read books or papers and then write a report (or exam). They are testing what you have learned, not directly helping you improve.

  We just give you the answers.

• What happens when I complete the course?

  For Paid members, upon completion of the course and submission of your optional Roadmap MBA project to submissions@RoadmapMBA.com you will receive feedback to help clarify your thinking and how you can implement the skills you have learned. Following this you will be sent a Roadmap MBA CPD certificate.

  For FREE Tier members, you complete the course by going through all of the Modules and making your own personal notes to implement these in your business or career. There is no submission requirements, however you will have unlimited access to the content to support your journey.

Business

• Is this suitable for small businesses?

  Yes.

• Is this suitable for large businesses?

  Yes.

• Do you have a special rate for charities / non profits?

  Yes. Please contact Guestlist@RoadmapMBA.com for more information.

• How often do we update the course?

  We aim to constantly refresh the materials to keep your team fully up-to-date on the lastest skills.

• Do we do Enterprise discount?

  Yes of course. Please contact Support@RoadmapMBA.com for more information.

• Can we use the course to train up our team?

  Yes of course. We know many businesses want to upskill their team but budgets are tight. Our FREE tier is perfect for this.

  If you want some extra support, we have the Paid tiers.

Past Experience or Education

• I have a business degree. Do I need this?

  Academic courses provide a great deal of knowledge, but we believe it is real-world skills which support your overall success.

• I’m a student. Is this right for me?

  Yes. When starting your career we recommend to get as much experience as you can. We recommend skimming through the course to discover the different modules and learn the basics, then come back to each to learn more when you need it during your career.

  Learning these skills will give you an advantage in your career.

• I have 20+ years experience. Is this too basic for me?

  No. We hope the course will help bring fresh ideas you can implement within your business or career, and simply skip the things you don’t need.

• English is not my first language.

  Although the course was written in English, using tools such as Google Translate you can translate every page and video transcript into your native language to support your learning.

  We do have ambitions to translate the course into multiple languages, but this will take take time.

Other

• Who are we fighting for?

  We are fighting for people who feel excluded from existing providers (or are unable to access what they offer) on our mission to make business education accessible to 5 billion people.

• What is our approach to Web Accessibility?

  We are working towards the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) standards and guidelines to make the web accessible to everyone.

  Improving accessibility is a journey we are committed to and we will always take feedback on how we can improve. Please send this to Feedback@RoadmapMBA.com.

• Can I get a FREE book?

  For every Roadmap MBA purchased, we gift one to someone in the community who has the work ethic to progress but not the financial means to purchase the course. Through doing so we aim to help lift people up and create a better world of diversity and opportunity. 

  Register interest to receive a free course by emailing guestlist@RoadmapMBA.com

• Why do we use the term “MBA”?

  We purposely use the brand positioning of “MBA” to denote a business course which is of high quality and to help users understand that we are an alternative to a traditional MBA, however we do recognise that some people dislike the use of the term “MBA” when we do not offer an accredited Masters degree in Business Administration.

  We are clear that the Roadmap is an alternative MBA business course which provides the real world skills to help you grow a business or your career. This is a private sector business course and not associated or accredited by any university or third party or imply any level of learning equivalent to an OfQal qualification.

  If you’re interested in learning more about brand positioning, it’s in Module 7.

• Have we just curated all of the best techniques and put them in one place?

  Yes. We sourced all of the most useful techniques from around the world, but also simplified them and explained them in a way to make them easy to use and understand.

• I can’t afford to pay but I’d like to help?

  You can really help us by telling other people and spreading the word. Follow us on social media @RoadmapMBA, or giving a Trustpilot review really helps too! https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/roadmapmba.com

• What is our long-term vision?

  We are on a mission to help people around the world build a better life for themselves, creating an accessible platform for all communities to thrive and celebrate together.

  Our vision for the platform is to build “the Peloton of business education”, giving users the ability to log-on anytime, choose their instructor, choose their topic, choice their language (including sign language) and learn at a time which suits them.

  We want to embrace diversity of thought and opinion with presenters from different backgrounds who each bring their unique viewpoint, thoughts, opinions and ideas on how to make the world better. We’re unlocking opportunity around the world.

  Our mission is to make business education accessible to 5 billion people. Join us.