What this site collects, and why

This page describes, factually, what personal information this site collects when you request a free resource, and what happens to it. It is not a substitute for formal legal advice.

When you request other free resources

To access a checklist, worksheet or other free resource that is not one of the printable guides described below, this site asks for your first name and email address, and optionally your country. Providing this information unlocks the resource immediately — it does not depend on agreeing to receive anything further.

Alongside your details, the site records which resource you requested, when, and basic technical context about how you arrived (such as the referring page or any campaign/UTM parameters in the link). This is used to understand which content is useful to people and where it's being shared — not to track you individually across the web.

Online guides and printable editions

Some guides, such as Build the Bridge First, can be read in full on this site without providing any personal information: no email, no account and no password.

The printable edition (a PDF to download, print, complete and keep) is a benefit for free members of the Modern Business Architect community. To get it, you enter your email address and press the button that says it will email you a confirmation link. The form only asks to become a member: nothing is unlocked and no marketing starts until you confirm. We send you one email with a link to a confirmation page; membership begins, and the PDF unlocks and starts downloading, only when you press the confirmation button on that page. Opening the link or a security scanner fetching it changes nothing. We then also email you a download link that stays valid so you can come back to it.

As a member you may receive occasional emails from Martin Dubreuil and The Modern Business Architect: educational material, new resources, updates and occasional relevant offers. If you do not confirm, you are not added to the mailing list and receive no marketing emails. To keep a record of what you were shown and chose, the site stores that you asked to become a member and, if you confirm, that you did, each with the exact wording you saw, the time, the page and the button you used. If you ask for the guide again after confirming, the download link is sent to your email address rather than shown on the page.

You can withdraw at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email, or by emailing Martin. Unsubscribing stops all marketing emails, keeps a record that you did, and does not take back anything you have already unlocked. A guide request form never signs an unsubscribed address up again; if you change your mind you can rejoin deliberately on the rejoin page, which asks for the same email confirmation.

To understand which guides are useful, the site counts anonymous activity on the guide page: page views, whether the guide was started or reached the end, and which printable-guide button was used. These counts use a random identifier that lasts only for that browser tab session and contains no personal information; no email is attached to them. If you then request the printable guide, that session's activity on the same guide page is linked to your contact record. The site does not record these counts if your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal. When you request the printable guide, the site also stores a one-way scrambled form of your IP address and browser details as evidence that the request was made, not the raw values.

Website analytics

The site uses two separate analytics tools to understand which pages are found and used, where visitors come from and whether the site leads to enquiries: the site's own first-party analytics, and Google Analytics. They run side by side and are independent of each other. Neither is used to identify you, and neither receives anything you type into a form.

The site's own analytics.It does not use cookies or browser local storage. For each visit it records the pages viewed and when, how long each page was in view, the referring website and any campaign tags in the link, your device type, browser family and country (taken from the network edge, never a precise location), and interactions such as button clicks or completed form steps. A random identifier held in your browser tab's session storage ties one visit together and is discarded when the tab closes or after 30 minutes of inactivity. Your IP address is not stored by this analytics, and no identifier is created that could recognise you when you return, so it counts visits, not people. Detailed page views and interactions are kept for 13 months and visit summaries for 25 months, then deleted. Visits from automated programs, including AI crawlers, and from the site's administrator are not counted. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal, this analytics does not run. When you submit an inquiry, request a resource or apply to a program, the site records that a submission happened (a count with the page and source it came from, linked to your visit only if this analytics was running), but that record contains none of what you wrote. Separately, to credit an inquiry to the page or campaign you arrived from, the site remembers that for the current browser tab only.

Google Analytics. The site also uses Google Analytics 4, a service provided by Google, to measure site use. It sets two cookies in your browser, _ga and a second one beginning _ga_, which last up to about 13 months and give your browser a random identifier so Google can recognise a returning browser and group page views into visits. It receives the address and title of each page you view, the page that referred you, your browser and device type, screen size, language, an approximate location that Google derives from your network address, and the same kinds of interaction as above, with a few non-identifying details such as which program was selected or an assessment's overall score. Google states that Google Analytics 4 does not log or store individual IP addresses. The data is sent to and processed by Google, and is kept for the period set in the site's Google Analytics account. Advertising features are switched off: the site does not use Google Analytics for advertising or share this data for advertising.

Your choice about Google Analytics. Google Analytics does not start, and sets no cookies, until it is allowed:

• If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal, Google Analytics never runs, and you are not asked.
• If you are visiting from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Brazil or Quebec, or the site cannot tell where you are, it asks first and stays off unless you choose Allow.
• From anywhere else it runs unless you decline. Wherever you are, you can change your choice at any time.

The site remembers your choice in your browser's local storage (an entry named mba_analytics_consent, for up to 12 months) so it does not ask again; this is the only thing stored for it. Declining, or withdrawing, switches Google Analytics off and removes the Google Analytics cookies the site can reach. Pages in the site's administration area, and visits by its administrator, are never sent to Google Analytics. You can also block Google Analytics with your browser's tracking protection or an ad or tracker blocker, or with Google's opt-out add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. The site's own cookieless analytics described above is separate: it does not depend on this choice. Google's explanation of how it uses data from sites like this one is in its description of how Google uses data from sites that use its services.

Analytics preferences

The shortlist (ongoing content)

The resource request form asks for your first name and email address and gives you two clearly labelled choices: one gets you the resource and keeps you on Martin's shortlist for further content (articles, guides, tools and the occasional relevant offer); the other just sends you the resource. Nothing is pre-selected, and you receive the resource either way. If you choose the first, the site records that consent along with a timestamp, the resource you were requesting and the version of the wording you saw. If you choose the second, no ongoing-content consent is recorded or implied.

If you've previously opted in and later download another resource with the "just send me" choice, your existing opt-in is preserved rather than treated as a withdrawal — choosing to just receive a resource isn't read as "unsubscribe." If you have unsubscribed before, this form will not subscribe you again; you still receive the resource. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can also email martin@mindrasolutions.com and it will be actioned directly.

The Business Idea Reality Check

This free interactive assessment asks 13 questions about a business idea and calculates a score using a fixed, documented scoring method — not by AI judgment. Your written answers are sent to a third-party AI provider (OpenAI) solely to (a) classify your open-ended answers against that fixed scoring rubric, and (b) write the plain-language explanation you see in your result. That provider does not use this data to train its models. The result, your answers, and the underlying score are stored against your contact details the same way a resource request is, so you can return to a result and so the methodology can be reviewed and improved. You can retake the assessment for the same idea later or for a different one — nothing is deleted or overwritten.

Individual assessment responses are not published or shared as individual research data. Anonymized, aggregated information across assessments may be used to improve the methodology, study patterns in how business ideas develop, and create broader research or educational material.

The Transition application

The Corporate to Entrepreneur Transition application asks for your first and last name, email address, country, employment situation, years of experience, stage and timing, and your written answers about what you want and where you need help. Your answers are stored against your contact details and are never published.

Nobody is screened. Every application is saved and you are offered a link to book a conversation straight away; no person, rule or AI system has to approve your application first, and your answers are not sent to an AI provider. Applications submitted before this change were assessed automatically with a third-party AI provider (OpenAI), which suggested a route and wrote a short summary for Martin; those assessments are kept as a record of that time and are no longer produced.

Submitting the application sends you one email with your booking link, and notifies Martin internally. These are transactional messages about your application and do not subscribe you to marketing. Bookings are made on this website (see "Booking a conversation" below). Your booking link contains a random reference, with no personal information in it: the booking page uses it only to fill in your own name and email address (for 60 days) and so that your booking can be connected to your application.

After you submit, the confirmation page offers a separate, optional invitation to join Martin's community for occasional emails with practical advice, ideas, guides and resources. There are two buttons, "No, thanks" and "Yes, count me in", and neither is chosen for you; completing the application never subscribes you, and your conversation is not affected by your choice. Pressing "Yes, count me in" records your consent with a timestamp, the page it was given on and the exact wording you saw. If you are visiting from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Brazil or Quebec, or your location cannot be determined, we then send one email asking you to confirm, and you are subscribed only once you press the confirmation button in it. Marketing emails include an unsubscribe link, and the same unsubscribe works for all of Martin's emails.

Application details are kept until you ask for them to be corrected or deleted (see "Getting in touch" below). As evidence of what you were shown and chose, the site also stores a one-way scrambled form of your IP address and browser details, not the raw values.

Booking a conversation

When you book a Complementary Session on this website, the site saves your name, email address, the time you chose, your time zone and any note you add. It creates a Zoom meeting and an entry in Martin's calendar for that time, and sends you a confirmation email. To change or cancel a booking, contact Martin (see "Getting in touch" below). Zoom, Google Calendar and the email provider handle the details they need under their own privacy policies. If you arrived from a link in an email about your inquiry or application, the booking is linked to it so Martin can see the history in one place. After you book, the page may offer an optional invitation to join Martin's community; nothing is chosen for you, and your choice is recorded with a timestamp and the exact wording you saw. Booking details are kept until you ask for them to be corrected or deleted (see "Getting in touch" below).

Sending a message

When you send a message through the inquiry form, the site saves your name, email address, the program you chose, your message and the page you came from, so that Martin can reply and keep a record, and sends you a confirmation email. Sending a message does not subscribe you to anything. Your message is kept for up to 24 months and then removed; your name, email address and the fact that you wrote stay on record until you ask for them to be deleted. The booking link in the confirmation email contains a random reference with no personal information: the booking page uses it only to fill in your own name and email address for 60 days and to connect a later booking to your message. You can ask for your messages to be deleted at any time (see "Getting in touch" below).

The Napkin Principle

This free interactive exercise asks about the price, direct costs and monthly operating costs of a business idea, and calculates a required transaction volume using a fixed, documented arithmetic method — no AI is used to calculate or interpret any part of it. You can complete the exercise and see your full on-screen result without providing an email address. Your answers and the calculated result are stored so the exercise can be revisited and improved, whether or not you go on to join the community.

After your result is shown, you can optionally provide your name and email to join The Modern Business Architecture Community and receive a fuller emailed breakdown. That's a separate, explicit choice recorded with a timestamp and the exact wording you agreed to — declining it means nothing is emailed and no marketing consent is recorded, but your on-screen result is unaffected either way.

Pick My Brain

When you search the site with Pick My Brain, the site records what you typed, which pages it suggested, which one you opened (if any) and the page you searched from. It does not record your name, email or IP address with a search. Searches are used to understand what visitors are looking for and what's worth writing next.

If you choose to send a question through Ask Martin, the site stores the question with the name and email you provide, and emails it to Martin. Those details are used only in connection with that question — they are not added to the shortlist.

How it's stored

Resource requests, Transition applications, assessment responses, Napkin Principle results, searches, questions and contact details are stored in a Postgres database (hosted via Supabase) that only this site's server can access — the database is never exposed publicly, and downloadable files are served through short-lived, controlled links rather than a public file listing. Your information is not sold, and is not shared with third parties except the service providers needed to run this site: Supabase (database hosting and file storage), Resend (email delivery, including delivery status such as delivered or bounced), Google (Google Analytics, which receives only the website-usage data described under Website analytics, not your contact details or anything you write) and — for the Business Idea Reality Check and the Transition application specifically — OpenAI, for AI-assisted classification and writing, as described above.

Getting in touch

For any question about what's stored, or to request that your information be corrected or deleted, email martin@mindrasolutions.com.