How a Business Works: A Practical Finance Guide for Entrepreneurs

The money side of building a company — finally in plain English.


Most founders are brilliant at their craft and get lost the moment the conversation turns to money. This book fixes that. With no jargon and no prior finance background assumed, it walks you through every financial decision a business faces — each one explained in plain language, then a simple formula, then a worked example you can actually follow.

Decide with confidence: Is this investment worth it? Lease or buy? Which option wins when the future is uncertain? Learn present value, NPV and IRR, break-even, depreciation, and expected value — the tools behind every smart business call.


Finance your business: how loans and amortization really work, debt vs. equity, the capital market for beginners, and the funding ladder from bootstrapping to venture capital.


Run it well: pricing and contribution margin, payroll and pensions, and reading your own income statement, balance sheet and cash-flow statement — and why profitable companies still run out of cash.


Born from a course taught to thousands of students from outside economics — proof that anyone, from any background, can master how a business works. Every chapter ends with Key Takeaways, and a free 60-second companion video backs up each one.