SeedBlink Blog

Welcome to an exclusive interview with Nikita Goncars, CEO of LANDE, a pioneering crowdfunding platform focused on financing the agricultural sector in the Baltics. As a SeedBlink portfolio company, LANDE raised 200,000 euros from 65 European private investors, fueling their growth and expansion.

In this interview, we'll delve into their capital-raising journey, their experience with SeedBlink, and their expansion into Romania, seeking valuable insights and advice for tech entrepreneurs looking to scale using crowdinvesting. Join us as we explore LANDE's remarkable achievements and the visionary leadership behind this transformative agricultural crowdfunding platform.

What does "success" mean to you and LANDE?

LANDE was founded with a clear goal: to empower European farmers by providing easy access to financing that can help them grow their agribusinesses. We have cumulatively provided over EUR 15 million in financing to farmers to date, of which 2 million have gone to Romanian farms over the course of just half a year since our entry into this market.

Accomplishing this goal wouldn't be possible without our investors. Currently, there are around 6,000 investors registered on the platform, coming from 28 European countries. Their total earnings amount to over EUR 850,000. LANDE enables financing from people to people, and investors can start building their portfolios for as little as 50 EUR.

As you can see, our business model only works when there's a balance between farmers and investors. This balance is where we see the definition of our current and future success.

Why did you choose SeedBlink as your capital-raising platform to raise funds for LANDE? What were the key factors that led you to believe SeedBlink was the right partner for your business?

Encouraged by our success in the Baltics, we started looking for the best market to continue our expansion. Romania was a winning choice for a number of reasons, including the size of the market, its importance on the EU agricultural map, and the entrepreneurial mindset of Romanian farmers, who are very driven towards growth and commercial success.

We thought fundraising in Romania would be a great strategy for our market launch, so we conducted some research and decided to work with SeedBlink thanks to its great track record and professional team. We were happy that, besides fundraising, the platform also helped us with the initial setup, including legal, banking, and local PR resources.

LANDE successfully raised 200,000 euros from 65 European private investors via SeedBlink. How has the capital raised from SeedBlink contributed to LANDE's growth and expansion in the agricultural sector?

We're very grateful for the opportunity provided by SeedBlink – the capital we raised has contributed a great deal to our development. LANDE has been profitable since launch day, but additional capital is always welcome as it ensures healthy growth and protects from possible market fluctuations. The funds have allowed us to hire a professional team on the Romanian market, a team that has been able to reach dozens of farmers who have taken loans worth more than EUR 2 million over the past six months. With such great results, Romania is on track to become LANDE's largest market.

How has your experience been with SeedBlink as an investor and partner? How has SeedBlink supported your growth journey beyond the fundraising process?

SeedBlink was very helpful during our entry into the Romanian market because it has not only enabled our fundraising operation but has also acted as a strategic partner that has helped us navigate the local market. This support was exceptionally valuable because every new market comes with its own challenges for any company, as the business culture and practices will always be different from those of other countries – sometimes significantly so.

In fact, in terms of the differences we've experienced, we found that people in Romania are very open in terms of communication and very willing to help, while the Baltics have more of a closed-off mentality, and people tend to be suspicious of anything new. This openness among Romanians has been a big part of our successful start here.

We understand that LANDE has expanded its operations. Could you tell us more about the decision-making process behind this expansion and the challenges and opportunities you encountered during this expansion?

I think our decision-making processes and expansion timeline are similar to those of most companies. First, you have to conduct in-depth research of the target market, including but not limited to potential market size, demand for your product, competition pricing and market share, legal aspects, and potential risks.

We looked at all of the above factors and more when we were considering Romania as our next market, and we are happy with our choice. Our services have been very well-received by the local agricultural community – LANDE provides fast funding options for farmers at a competitive cost.

What key lessons have you learned from using crowdinvesting to scale your tech-based agricultural crowdfunding platform?

The most important lesson, in my view, is that the trust of our investors is our most sacred asset and that we must never stop working towards strengthening this relationship. At the same time, choosing only the highest quality projects to publish on our platform is another key aspect of our long-term success and sustainable growth and a commitment that we make to every new investor who joins our platform and starts to build a portfolio.

As the CEO of a successful crowdfunding platform, what are your future plans and vision for LANDE? How do you plan to sustain and further enhance the company's impact in the agricultural sector and beyond?

Our current goal is to finalize the setup of our business on the Romanian market, as we still have some work to do here to optimize operations. After we tick all the boxes, we will decide on the next market where we should continue our expansion. There are already several countries on our list, but we are not yet ready to disclose the final choice.

Could you share some success stories or significant milestones achieved by the agricultural projects funded through Lande? How has your platform positively impacted the agricultural community in the Baltics and Romania?

LANDE has funded agricultural projects totaling EUR 15 million since its inception, of which 2 million has been given out to farmers on the Romanian market. We provide a much-needed alternative source of finance to farmers who sometimes struggle to obtain similar funds from traditional financial institutions or other sources. Our focus on the agribusiness segment is unique and very important for us because it means that our teams are highly specialized and they have a great understanding of the challenges farmers face in each of our markets, therefore our services are designed to adequately respond to farmers’ needs, while also making sure that the farms we lend to are stable and trustworthy. We are proud to be able to support farmers in developing their businesses and reaching their full potential.

On the other side, investors across Europe are strengthening their portfolios with secure projects that provide them with financial stability and peace of mind. To date, no investors have lost capital on our platform, and our borrower default rate is only 1% - a very low figure compared to those reported by peers. We encourage new investors to join our platform at lande.finance and discover the value of the projects we publish daily, all offering average interest rates of >12%.