Lavrenti Tsudakov: How Income Marketplace is Bridging Investors and Loan Originators

In this interview, we speak with Lavrenti Tsudakov, CEO of Income Marketplace, about how the platform bridges the gap between investors and loan originators. Discover what makes Income Marketplace unique, the types of investments it offers, potential returns for investors, and the ambitious goals the company aims to achieve under Lavrenti's leadership.

Can you briefly describe Income Marketplace?

Income is an investment platform bridging Loan Originators and investors. Its standout feature is the unique security mechanics, ensuring better investor protection. These include advanced risk mitigation tools such as Cashflow buffer, and Buyback obligation for non-performing loans. Income offers diverse loan opportunities, enabling investors to grow their portfolios while supporting LOs in accessing stable funding. Transparency and open communication are at the heart of how we do business, ensuring trust and clarity at every step.

What drew you to Income Marketplace and inspired your journey to becoming its CEO?

While working at a local Baltic bank a few years ago, I discovered a deep passion for finance and its potential to shape lives and businesses. When I came across Income Marketplace, it struck me as the perfect blend of what excites me most: a talented and driven team, a compelling idea at its core, and tremendous opportunities for improvement and innovation. Becoming the CEO was a natural progression, allowing me to actively influence both the day-to-day operations and the company's longer-term strategy. This role allows us to tackle challenges head-on, implement impactful changes, and steer the company toward its full potential.

How do you find loan originators and new potential investments?

In 2024, we began redefining our pipeline to identify loan originators (LOs) and new investment opportunities. This involved expanding our team with talented professionals and integrating AI tools to streamline processes and improve decision-making. By the end of the year, it was evident we were on the right path, as the number of LOs in our pipeline steadily increased.

Now, we’re witnessing an exciting shift in the process. New leads are proactively reaching out to us, expressing interest in joining the platform. Additionally, our first serious institutional investor has joined, marking a pivotal step in our evolution and reinforcing our credibility in the market. While we continue to scout for quality opportunities actively, this inbound interest strongly validates the value we bring to the market.

Who is on your team and how do you complement each other?

We’re a small but dynamic startup team, where flexibility is key, and everyone occasionally steps beyond traditional roles to ensure success. Despite this, there’s a clear synergy between us, with each member owning their responsibilities without being micromanaged. The team includes Kimmo, our founder and former CEO, who handles legal matters and brings invaluable lending industry expertise. Steffi leads marketing efforts, Maciej manages due diligence analysis, and Jegor oversees LO onboarding. Roger is our finance guru, ensuring financial stability, Juri is our CTO, and Hendrik handles KYC and AML processes precisely. Anastasia provides support to our users and manages IT developments.

Each member plays a critical role in shaping the Income Marketplace, and I’m proud to work alongside such a talented and dedicated group. Visit our site to learn more about the Income Marketplace team.

How are you regulated, and what does that mean to your investors?

Sadly, in Estonia, there is no regulation specifically for the assignment of claims. As a company, we strongly favor being regulated, as it would enhance trust and provide additional assurance to our investors. However, a thorough investigation conducted with a reputable law firm clarified that regulation is not currently possible for us under Estonian law. 

We fully understand the importance of this topic and actively monitor the evolving regulatory landscape with the help of TGS Baltics. This ensures that we are prepared to adapt swiftly should opportunities for regulation arise. For investors, this means that while we operate in an unregulated space, we remain committed to upholding the highest standards of transparency, investor protection, and operational excellence. Our robust security measures and diligent compliance practices aim to bridge this gap, ensuring a safe and trustworthy investment environment.

What are the types of investments available on Income Marketplace?

Income Marketplace offers a diverse range of loan investments to cater to different investor preferences and risk appetites. On our platform, you’ll find everything from standard consumer loans originating in countries like Indonesia and Bulgaria to specialized options like litigation funding in the UK. We also feature business loans, rent-to-buy car loans, and asset-backed loans, providing a robust selection for portfolio diversification.

We aim to continuously expand the variety of investments available, ensuring investors have access to unique and innovative opportunities. We’re actively working on adding new loan types to the platform, with promising leads in areas such as factoring and debt claims.

What are the potential earnings for an investor on Income Marketplace?

On Income Marketplace, investors can achieve an average annual return rate of 13.7%, making it an attractive platform for those seeking strong returns. However, the actual earnings depend on the individual investor’s risk appetite and investment strategy.

For more conservative investors, lower-risk loans with stable returns may be preferred. At the same time, those with a higher risk tolerance might opt for higher-yield opportunities that carry more significant variability. The wide range of loan types available on the platform - spanning consumer loans, business loans, litigation funding, and more - ensures that investors can diversify their portfolios and tailor their investments to align with their financial goals.

What are the key milestones or goals you aim to achieve this coming year?

This year, we have milestones to drive Income Marketplace to the next level. Our primary focus is to close another funding round, which will enable us to onboard Loan Originators (LOs) more quickly and expand into new markets, broadening opportunities for our investors. 

We’re also preparing the system to handle a more significant number of investors seamlessly while maintaining a good user experience. Key developments, such as introducing a secondary market, are high on our priority list to enhance liquidity and flexibility for our investors. 

To support these advancements, we plan to grow our team by hiring new teammates to help us maintain the high standards of quality and security that define our platform. We aim to accelerate growth while staying true to our core values, ensuring that Income remains a trusted and innovative marketplace for investors and LOs.