You already have the capital.Nobody showed you the alternatives
Most people deploy into one thing. The stock market, or worse, a money manager who controls every decision for them. Private markets are the alternative. Private credit and private equity, where operators borrow at real rates against real assets and use capital to scale real businesses and real estate. These topics are usually kept for the super wealthy, the family offices and the institutional lenders. We think the everyday person with capital to deploy deserves to understand them too, so this page brings them into the open. No pitch, no offering, no button that asks for a wire.
Take 5 minutes to decide how your capital works for the next 5 years.
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Free education, nothing gatedBuilt for the long term investorMost people here have $50,000+ to deployForward it to anyone who should read it
Where this comes from
Since 2014
Inside private capital, including work alongside institutional and family office groups
Hundreds
Of successful deals completed with investors across our network
8 figures+
Of capital deployed across deals we have been involved with
9 figures+
Of transactions we have seen happen around us, which is where the patterns came from
Figures are approximate and describe activity across our network over time. They are not a performance record and not a promise of any result.
What this page is, and what it is not
This is a guide. It explains how private credit and private equity work so you understand your options before anyone puts a number in front of you. It is not a solicitation, there is nothing here to buy, and no opportunity is being offered. If you want a conversation after reading it, you are welcome to reach out and we will coordinate a time.
Who this is for, and who it is not
✓You control at least $50,000 and you are thinking in years, not weeks
✓You want steady passive yield rather than a quick in and out
✓You would rather understand the structures than hand the decisions to someone else
✕You need the money back quickly. Passive positions are the wrong tool for that
✕You want to test the waters with money you cannot leave alone
If you are after a fast return, the honest answer is to put that money into yourself or into your own business instead. It will outperform any passive position, and you will control the outcome.
Before you assume this is not for you
The capital is usually already sitting somewhere
It does not have to be cash waiting in an account. Most capital that moves into private markets gets redirected out of something else that was quietly underperforming.
Brokerage accounts
A position sold or trimmed to diversify away from a portfolio that moves entirely with the market.
IRAs and old 401ks
A self-directed account can hold private notes and private real estate. Most people never learn their retirement money has this option.
Money markets, CDs and annuities
Lazy money. Safe, liquid, and earning a fraction of what secured private credit pays for a defined term.
Savings
Whatever sits above your reserve. Reserves stay untouched. That rule comes before everything else on this page.
Equity in real estate you own
Trapped equity in an investment property or a primary residence can be repositioned, as long as the return clears the cost of that borrowing.
Business profits
Retained earnings that have no job yet, put to work in terms measured in months rather than decades.
What you get at the end
A profile, a recommendation, and the reasoning
Here is what the assessment produces. This one is an example, not a real person.
Example result
A secured core with a yield sleeve
You are balanced, which means your answer is a ratio rather than a side.
Income orientation58%
Growth orientation42%
Positions open to
Second position, Unsecured business purpose
Per deal
$50,000 to $100,000
Preferred term
1 to 3 years
Would fund
Fix and flip projects, Rentals and refinance holds
Second position turns on one number. Combined loan to value. What the senior lender is owed plus what you are owed, against a real value.
Start here
Owning is exciting. Lending is the position of strength
When you buy equity
There is no agreement anywhere that says your principal comes back. You are counting on that business or that property to perform. It is not gambling, but it is equivalent to taking a gamble: if the plan fails, the equity is what absorbs it. You are last in line by design.
When you lend
You hold a contract that says this business is required to pay you back, plus a return. You are renting your money out, at a rate you agreed to, for a period you agreed to. Control sits with you. That is why experienced capital ends up here.
Every structure on this page is business purpose
This is not consumer debt. No one is taking a personal loan. These are companies and operators borrowing knowingly, as a business decision, to make more money than the capital costs them. They price it that way because it works for them.
These principles come out of more than a decade of lending, out of working inside funds that do this as their entire business, and out of advisory relationships with groups that have deployed billions of dollars at scale. The discipline was built the expensive way.
Douglas J. Beck, Founder
The principle everything here rests on
Lend against cash flow. Real estate that produces it, or businesses that produce it.
Take real risk, on purpose, where there is cash flow underneath it. A property that rents, a project with a buyer already lined up, a business with receivables it has already earned. The structures below are ordered by how directly your repayment is tied to that cash flow. When the cash flow exists before you fund, you are being repaid out of money that is already being made. When it does not, you are being repaid out of a forecast.
Part 1
Inside private lending
Four structures. They differ in what secures you, what you earn, and what happens when a project goes sideways. These are real requests that cross our desk every week.
First position
Income
You are the senior lender against a specific property. Your lien is recorded first, so you are paid before anyone else with a claim on that asset.
Typical yield
8% to 12%
Typical size
$50K+
Secured by
A recorded first lien on one property
Term
6 months to 5 years
Paid
Fixed interest, monthly or quarterly
Pros
First in line. The owner's equity absorbs losses before you
The return is known the day you fund
A recorded lien on real property, not a promise
Cons
The lowest yield of the four, because competition is heaviest here
Institutional capital is readily available for first position, which compresses what operators will pay you
Tied to one asset. If that property fails, there is no other collateral
Larger minimums than the other lanes
Second position
Higher income
A junior lien behind the senior lender on the same property. You are still on title, and you still have to be paid off before that property sells or refinances clean.
Typical yield
10% to 15%
Typical size
$10K+
Secured by
A recorded junior lien on one property
Term
6 months to 3 years
Paid
Interest, often with a balloon at payoff
Pros
Meaningfully higher yield than first position on the same property
Still on title, with a real estate asset behind you
Entry sizes start far lower, so capital spreads across more deals
Where repeat relationships form. Fund an operator once, learn how they work, do it again
Cons
Junior. The senior lender is paid in full before you see a dollar
If the project fails, your position depends on the equity left above the senior debt
Still tied to one asset, with no other collateral behind it
Turns on combined loan to value, not the property value alone
Unsecured, business purpose
Highest income
A loan to an operating company rather than against one property. No lien on title. Repayment comes from the business and its revenue, and the company's assets stand behind it.
Typical yield
15%+
Typical size
$5K+
Secured by
The company, its assets and its revenue
Term
30 days to 12 months
Paid
Interest, fees, or a fixed payback amount
Pros
The highest yields available, negotiated rather than posted
Short duration, so capital comes back and gets redeployed quickly
A company with several revenue streams is more diversified than a single property
Smallest entry point here, so you can test an operator with a small check
Operators pay a premium for speed, which is what you are actually selling
Cons
No lien, no title position, no foreclosure path
You are underwriting a business and an operator, not a property
If the business stops paying, you are a creditor in line with other creditors
Demands the most diligence and the strongest relationship
Receivables and merchant cash advance
Highest income
The fourth structure, and the one most misunderstood. A business has already earned the money and is waiting to be paid. You advance against those receivables and get repaid as they collect. The cash flow exists before you fund, which is why family offices and institutional groups favor it: high yield with real revenue behind it rather than a projection.
Typical yield
Negotiated, highest
Typical size
$5K+
Term
Weeks to months
Main risk
Collection
What short term capital actually funds
Requests that come in every week
1
Carry costs on a fix and flip
The purchase and rehab are funded. The operator needs interest, taxes and insurance covered until the property sells. Short, defined, tied to a project already underway.
2
Earnest money for a wholesaler
A deal is under contract and needs an earnest money deposit for the period until it is assigned or closed. Days to weeks, not years, at a yield that reflects it.
3
Qualification capital
An operator needs verified funds in an account to qualify for a larger loan product. Short duration, clearly defined purpose, priced accordingly.
4
Receivables already earned
A business is waiting on money it has invoiced. You solve the timing problem and get repaid from the collection.
Part 2
Yield and risk move together. Always
Nobody pays a premium for safety. Every extra point of yield is paid for with something you gave up: your position, your collateral, or your certainty about who repays you.
Lower yield, more protectionHigher yield, less protection
8% to 12%
First position
Senior recorded lien. Paid before everyone on that property.
10% to 15%
Second position
Junior recorded lien. Still on title, behind the senior lender.
15%+
Unsecured
No lien. The company and its revenue stand behind you.
Negotiated
Receivables
Money already earned. Repaid as it collects.
All or nothing
Equity and development
The biggest ceiling and the hardest failures.
The honest part about that last box
Ground up construction and heavy repositioning pay the most and fail the hardest. That is not theory here. The projects of ours that did not go to plan were development deals: significant renovations and new construction. That experience is exactly why the education on this page starts with what secures you rather than with what a deal could return.
Part 3
The other ways capital goes to work
Beyond direct lending, these are the structures that will be put in front of you.
Debt funds and note pools
Income
Your capital sits across a pool of loans managed by an operator instead of funding one. One position, many borrowers.
You get paid
A stated preferred rate, usually quarterly
Horizon
1 to 5 years, often with a lockup
Typical entry
$50,000 to $100,000
Pros
One bad loan does not take the whole position with it
Capital stays deployed instead of idle between loans
Cons
You are trusting the manager's underwriting, not your own eyes
Redemption windows, not on demand liquidity
LP equity in a syndication
Growth
A passive ownership slice of a single large asset, typically an apartment community or commercial property, alongside a sponsor who operates it.
You get paid
Distributions, then a share of the sale
Horizon
3 to 7 years, illiquid throughout
Typical entry
$50,000 to $100,000
Pros
Real upside if the plan works, plus depreciation
Institutional quality assets at a personal check size
Cons
Behind every lender. Last to be paid if the plan fails
Locked until the sponsor sells, and distributions pause in a bad year
Joint venture equity
Income + growth
A direct partnership on a specific project, on negotiated terms, usually a preferred return plus a split of the profit.
You get paid
A preferred return, then a profit split
Horizon
9 months to 3 years
Typical entry
$100,000 and up
Pros
Terms are negotiated, not handed to you
Shorter cycles and direct access to the operator
Cons
Concentrated in one project, one operator, one market
The least passive of the passive options
Direct ownership, managed
Income + growth
You buy the property and hire management. You hold title, the tax benefits and every decision.
You get paid
Rent after expenses, plus appreciation
Horizon
5 years and up
Typical entry
25% down plus reserves
Pros
Total control of the asset, the financing and the exit
The full depreciation benefit is yours
Cons
It is a business, not an investment, whoever you hire
Vacancies and capital expenses land on you
Part 4
Side by side
Yield ranges below are general market observations, approximate, not a quote and not an offer.
Structure
Typical yield
Entry from
Secured by
Term
Biggest risk
First position
8% to 12%
$50,000
First lien on one property
6 months to 5 years
That single asset failing
Second position
10% to 15%
$10,000
Junior lien on one property
6 months to 3 years
No equity left above the senior debt
Unsecured business purpose
15%+
$5,000
The company and its revenue
30 days to 12 months
The operator, not the property
Receivables and MCA
Negotiated, highest
$5,000
Money already earned
Weeks to months
Collection risk
Debt fund
Stated preferred rate
$50,000
A pool of loans
1 to 5 years
The manager's underwriting
LP syndication
Distributions plus exit
$50,000
Nothing. You are the equity
3 to 7 years
Last in line, fully illiquid
JV equity
Preferred plus split
$100,000
Negotiated
9 months to 3 years
Concentration in one project
Direct ownership
Rent after expenses
25% down
You own it
5 years and up
It becomes your job
↔ Swipe the table sideways to see every column
Part 5
Cash flow is the point. Income is how you hold it
These are two separate ideas and both matter. Cash flow is what makes a deal safe to lend against. Income is what makes a position worth holding for 5 years.
Cash flow protects the loan
Money already being produced is what repays you: rent collected, a receivable invoiced, a buyer under contract. When cash flow exists before you fund, your repayment does not depend on anyone's forecast being right. That is the difference between an underwriting decision and a hope.
Income compounds your position
Getting paid on a schedule means capital returns to you continuously, and each payment can be redeployed instead of waiting on one exit. Over 5 years that rhythm does more work than a single large outcome that may or may not arrive on time.
Income
Paid while you wait
Money arrives on a schedule regardless of what the market does. Your return is known in advance and capped in advance.
Needs no buyer, no exit and no market timing
Predictable enough to plan a life around
Loses to growth in a strong market
Inflation erodes a fixed rate over a long hold
Growth
Paid at the end, if it works
Your return depends on what the asset is worth later. Bigger ceiling, and a real floor risk underneath it.
Requires a buyer, a window and cooperative rates
Depreciation makes what you do receive tax efficient
Nothing arrives while you hold, in many structures
Timing risk is the entire risk
The practical answer is a ratio, not a side
Most high income earners say they will take risk and then want certainty and yield. There is nothing wrong with that. It just means the ratio should be set deliberately rather than by whoever pitched you last. The assessment sets yours from how you actually answer.
Part 6
Order matters more than selection
Understand what secures each of these before any of them is presented to you with a number attached.
1
Reserves in cash
6 to 12 months of expenses, liquid and boring. Every forced exit traces back to a missing reserve, not a bad deal.
2
Discretionary capital identified
Money you can decide to invest, in an account that can actually hold the investment. If it sits in an old employer 401k or an idle IRA, a self-directed account is the step that unlocks private notes.
3
Education before allocation
Know what secures each structure and where you stand in line. This page is that rung.
4
The apex for most high income earners
Secured lending as the core
First or second position, recorded against a property, paid on a schedule, requiring none of your time. When your income already comes from your profession or business, the job of invested capital is to be reliable rather than exciting.
5
Short term business lending as the yield sleeve
Unsecured business purpose loans and receivables add yield in short, repeatable cycles, funded only with capital that can absorb a loss and only with operators you know.
6
Equity and development last
LP positions bring upside and depreciation. Development pays the most and fails the hardest. Both are funded from gains, never from the reserve or the core.
Part 7
5 minutes now, for a 5-year decision
12 questions, no email required to take it. You get your result on screen either way. Share your details at the end only if you want us to reach out, and the conversation starts from what you already told us rather than from 20 more questions.
Question 1 of 12
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Your result
Your profile
This is an assessment based on your own answers. We are not your financial advisor, and this is not a recommendation of any specific investment.
Income orientation0%
Growth orientation0%
Primary fit
Secondary fit
Your investor profile
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What happens after I submit this?
Your result goes to your inbox and someone from our team reaches out within 1 business day to talk through what you saw. That is the whole process. No documents arrive, no portal opens, nothing is signed.
Is someone going to try to sell me something?
The first conversation is about your answers and what fits. Nothing is offered on a first call, and no specific opportunity is discussed until accredited status is confirmed and you have asked to see one.
Do I have to be an accredited investor?
Not to take the assessment or to have a conversation. Private offerings are generally limited to accredited investors, so accreditation decides which structures can be discussed with you later. Plenty of people are accredited and have never been told what the term means.
How much do I need to start?
Most people we talk with are deploying $50,000 or more. Second position and short term business lending carry the lowest entry points, so smaller amounts still have somewhere to go. It is a range, not a rule.
Is my information shared with anyone?
No. Your details are used to send your result and to contact you about it. They are not sold, rented or passed to a third party.
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When we speak, bring the hard questions. The useful ones are what happens when a borrower stops paying, where the money sits while it waits, and what we own in the deals ourselves.
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