An MBA can be either a great investment or a huge waste of time and money. Here’s why I wouldn’t do another MBA—unless it were at a truly top-tier university. I finished electrical engineering, then worked as a software developer. I started an MBA, co-founded two companies (one raised venture capital), and I’ve asked myself: Did the MBA actually help me start companies? Short answer: not much. That doesn’t mean an MBA has no value. It just wasn’t the driver I expected.

I enrolled in an online MBA at UNIR (dual Mexico/Spain degree). I dropped out after 15 months—three months before graduation. Still, two ideas from that program have been very useful:

1) Opportunity cost & the time value of money

Life constantly presents choices—Option A, B, C. You can “go with your gut,” but you can also compare options objectively.

A simple investing example:

  • U.S. stocks (S&P 500): historically ~11% average annual return
  • Real estate: roughly 7–9%
  • Government bonds: roughly 3–8%

That data helps, but you should also weigh:

  • Risk (volatility): prices go up and down; some assets swing more than others.
  • Liquidity: how fast can you convert the asset back to cash? (Public stocks are usually the easiest.)

And don’t forget inflation. If an investment pays 5% but inflation is 6%, you’re losing purchasing power. Always think in real (inflation-adjusted) terms.

Not financial advice—just the mental model I use to compare options.

2) Understand the financial system

It’s wild how little we’re taught about how money actually works. That knowledge gap widens inequality.

Three basics that paid off for me:

  • Opportunity cost (above).
  • Time value of money (cash today > cash tomorrow).
  • Economic cycles. Markets expand and contract. Recognizing the cycle helps you time credit decisions and risk.

Why I quit three months before graduating

By Feb/Mar 2022, our startup had received $100K from Platanus Ventures. I was already building full-time. What finally pushed me out wasn’t UNIR specifically—it’s common in many MBAs: I had to produce a 60-page business plan.

Anyone who’s actually built a company knows that’s not how startups work. You learn by shipping, hitting walls, fixing, and iterating—not by writing essays about hypothetical X, Y, Z. That assignment made it obvious: more months and money wouldn’t move the business forward.

Would I ever do an MBA again?

Yes—but only at a truly elite school (think Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Oxford, etc.). You can learn most of the theory on YouTube or in online courses. What you can’t easily replicate is the network: the density of ambitious people and the doors that open over decades.

Like the saying goes: your network is your net worth.

Takeaways

  • If you want to start or scale a company soon, an MBA likely won’t be the bottleneck. Real-world reps will beat a 60-page plan.
  • If you want structured learning + a powerful network, and you can access a top program, it can be worth it.
  • Whatever path you choose, think in opportunity cost.