Eureka Case 25 min Undergrad

Three Offers

You are María, 30. In ten weeks you graduate from IESE Madrid. You have three offers — all good — and you have to pick one by Friday. The loan officer at La Caixa is also waiting; you have €92,000 in MBA debt to start servicing in November.

The situation

Offer 1 — BCG Madrid, Associate. €110k base + €20k signing + €30k performance bonus. 2-year track to Project Leader. Best for an MBA debt-pay-down on schedule.

Offer 2 — Apax Iberia, Pre-MBA Associate (no, post-MBA Associate). €130k base + €70k carry-tier bonus, lifestyle very long hours. PE track, optionality into operating roles by year 5.

Offer 3 — COO at Pluvia, a Bogotá-based YC-backed B2B SaaS. Series A closed last quarter. €75k base (Colombian-adjusted is higher in real terms) + 1.5% equity vesting over 4 years. You'd be employee #8. The founder is an IESE alum two years ahead of you who reached out personally.

Your job in this case: look at where the three paths actually lead, weigh what you care about, and commit. The MBA debt makes the comp dimension feel non-negotiable — but you're 30, and a 40-year career bends on what you build in the first decade, not on whether you serviced debt 18 months faster.

The decision

Which offer do you take?

  • A · BCG Madrid · Associate
  • B · Apax Iberia · PE Associate
  • C · Pluvia · COO, Bogotá

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