The case outlines the key strategic challenges that the protagonist, the founder of a high-potential fintech start-up, is grappling with in his push for growth, which has started to plateau. It considers this strategic challenge in light of the tumultuous entrepreneurial journey and the various uncertainties entrepreneurs often have to navigate to ensure business continuity and the growth of the companies they launch.

With the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lauris Liberts and Davis Siksnans, co-founders of Printful, a print-on-demand (POD) company from Latvia, saw the gloomy picture of the world borders closing and business operations slowing down. At the same time, an unprecedented and sudden online demand for Printful’s products and services took off. In March 2020, the top managers of Printful found themselves discussing the options in front of them.

In October 2016, the chief executive officer of Bidcorp Baltics, a food services company operating in the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, faced a dilemma. He needed to decide whether to expand the warehouse depot in Lithuania or in another location, and whether the company should diversify into products other than fresh fish and seafood. Because the company was part of the larger Bid Corporation Limited group, headquartered .....more

Three friends have followed their entrepreneurial dream to build a five-star hotel in Liepaja, a seaside city in Latvia. After a few early profitable years, the hotel is struggling, due to the massive downturn in the Latvian economy as a result of the European Union financial crisis and slow recovery. The hotel has declined from generating an annual profit to now making a loss or barely breaking even. On several occasions, the co-owners have considered .....more

After successfully issuing a €100 million Eurobond in 2005, executives at Parex Banka (Parex) in Riga, Latvia are considering issuing a second bond with a face value of €200 million and a term of 5 years. In planning the bond issue, the bank is debating the bond's characteristics, such as the currency (Euro versus U.S. dollar), the spread they would initially offer and how they would approach the meeting with potential investors. Students are .....more