€100,000 in your account: why Latvians choose stocks over their own business?

A few days ago we asked a simple question to the Latvian entrepreneurial community:

> "Today €100,000 lands in your account. What will you do?"

76 people answered. And the results made us pause.

More than half chose stocks or bonds

Not their own business. Not their team. Not a new product. Financial markets – somewhere outside Latvia, something they don't manage themselves.

And you know what? From a cultural perspective, it's perfectly logical.

Hofstede's index: why we think this way

Geert Hofstede is one of the world's most cited culture researchers. He has measured dozens of countries and built an index showing how culture shapes decisions.

Latvia scores very high on "uncertainty avoidance" in this index. That means one thing:

• as a nation we fear uncertainty;
• we want control;
• we want predictability;
• we want solid ground under our feet.

Financial assets seem to give us that. Or at least it feels that way.

But are stocks really safer than your own business?

Let's think for a moment.

Stocks and bonds:

• the market can fall 40% in the next recession;
• you can't influence the company's strategy;
• your information is the same as millions of other investors';
• returns are set by the market, not you.

Your business:

• you know every client, every contract, every risk;
• you can affect outcomes today, this week, this month;
• you see opportunities others don't;
• client relationships depend 100% on you.

€100,000 invested at the right stage of business growth – a new market, a larger team, extra capacity, marketing – can deliver returns no ETF will ever match.

So why does the choice so often go to stocks?

Because stocks feel safer. They are:

• passive – no extra work required;
• diversified – risk is "spread";
• abstract – if you lose, it's "the market," not your mistake.

But that same abstraction is also their weakness: you don't really know what you're buying, and you can't change anything.

Culture isn't destiny

High uncertainty avoidance is a feature of our culture – but it isn't destiny. In Scandinavia and the Netherlands the same index is far lower, and you can see it in their entrepreneurial environment: more venture capital, more high-growth companies, more reinvestment into the founder's own business.

The question isn't whether stocks are bad. They aren't. Diversification is healthy.

The question is different: do you choose the "safe" path because you genuinely believe it's better – or because your fear of failure is stronger than your desire to grow?

A practical framework for thinking about €100,000

Before you automatically send the money to a brokerage account, answer three questions:

1. Is my business currently at a growth stage that requires capital? (new market, new team, new product, scaling)
2. What is the realistic ROI projection if I invested this money into my business over a 12–24 month horizon? Compare it to the 6–8% annual return from the market.
3. Do I lack capital, or do I lack a plan? If you lack a plan – an ETF may genuinely be the better choice. If you only lack capital – you're probably leaving enormous value on the table.

What we see in practice

Working with entrepreneurs in Latvia, we see the same pattern again and again: companies that raise growth capital at the right moment outperform those who "play it safe" within a few years. Not because their risk is lower – but because the opportunity cost is far higher than it appears.

If you're thinking about what the next capital step might look like in your business – not necessarily exactly €100,000 – get in touch. We'll assess for free whether and how raising financing could accelerate your growth.

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*Survey conducted in April 2026 in Oferta Finance channels. Responses: 76.*