Before Avestor, Edwin’s lending operations were managed through a patchwork of spreadsheets, QuickBooks files, and one-off legal entities. Every new raise required a new PPM, separate audits, and repetitive investor onboarding. Legal costs alone averaged $35,000–$50,000 per set up, money that could’ve been compounded in deals.

But the real pain point wasn’t just cost. It was scalability.

Every time Blue Bay wanted to expand into a new market or asset class, it meant starting over, forming new entities, re-vetting investors, and redoing compliance filings. For a fund operating across states with varying licensing laws (like California, Arizona, and Nevada), the complexity multiplied quickly.

As Edwin explains:

“Private lending is a high-risk business. But the biggest risk isn’t the borrower, it’s your own systems. Without structure, you lose control long before you lose money.”

He needed a model that could handle continuous lending, keep investors compliant under Regulation D, and automate back-office processes without sacrificing transparency or flexibility.

When Edwin discovered Avestor’s Customizable Fund®, the model checked every box.

Avestor provided the legal, operational, and technology foundation that traditional fund structures lacked. The Customizable Fund® operates under SEC Regulation D exemptions (506(b) and 506(c)), allowing managers like Edwin to raise capital from accredited investors while offering deal-by-deal flexibility inside a single fund structure.

Key features that transformed Blue Bay’s operations:

• One Legal Framework, Multiple Deals: Blue Bay Fund I no longer needs separate LLCs or new fund documents for each loan. One fund structure covers every lending opportunity, from single-family rehabs to commercial bridge loans.

• Investor-Level Choice: Investors can now select which deals they want to participate in, providing transparency and aligning risk appetite with specific projects.

• Centralized Compliance: Avestor’s built-in filings, integrated KYC/AML, and ongoing legal oversight ensure Blue Bay Fund I remains fully compliant across state and federal levels.

• Automated Back-Office: The Avestor platform manages investor onboarding, tracking, and capital distributions, cutting manual reconciliation time by over 60%.

This model gave Edwin what traditional fund structures never could: the freedom to focus on underwriting, not paperwork.

Implementation: Tactical Lending, Strategic Systems

With Avestor’s platform in place, Blue Bay Fund I began executing a disciplined, data-driven lending strategy. Edwin applied the same risk assessment framework that once guided his military operations:

1. Borrower Risk: Evaluating integrity, financial discipline, and repayment history, not just credit score.

2. Property Risk: Assessing location, liquidity, political environment, and disaster exposure.

3. Project Risk: Verifying contractor capacity, permits, and draw schedules to avoid stalled projects.

4. Force Majeure Readiness: Preparing for “black swan” events through conservative LTVs and liquidity buffers.

One of Edwin’s hard-earned rules is simple:

“We never fund 100% of a deal upfront. Every draw is earned, just like in the military, every mission is verified before execution.”

Avestor’s operational infrastructure made it possible to enforce this rigor consistently. Through the platform, investors can view real-time deal updates, loan performance, and payment histories, eliminating the opaque “black box” that plagues many private lenders.

Within months of launching through Avestor, Blue Bay Fund I saw measurable improvements:

• Legal & Admin Costs Down 50–60%: No more repeating entity formations and legal drafts for every deal.

• Capital Deployment 2× Faster: Streamlined onboarding and deal approval process.

• Investor Updates Reduced by 70%: Transparency through the investor portal eliminated manual reporting.

• Compliance Confidence: SEC and state filings managed seamlessly through Avestor’s attorney partners.

But the most powerful outcome has been investor trust. With clear reporting and optionality per deal, Blue Bay’s LPs feel more in control, and that confidence has led to higher reinvestment rates.

As Edwin puts it:

“Investors don’t just want returns; they want reassurance. When they can see their money working, that’s what builds repeat capital.”

The Power of Experience + Infrastructure

Edwin’s dual background: tactical operations and financial strategy, gave him an edge. But Avestor gave him the system to scale it.

Today, Blue Bay Fund I stands as a case study in what happens when discipline meets technology. It’s proof that the private credit industry doesn’t need to compromise between flexibility and compliance; with the right structure, you can have both.

“I built this fund the way I used to plan missions: every move calculated, every variable covered. Avestor gave me the tools to execute that strategy at scale.”

Conclusion: A Model for the Next Generation of Debt Funds

Blue Bay Fund I’s journey highlights a major shift in private lending from fragmented, manual operations to structured, tech-driven fund management.

Read more about Blue Bay Fund I here.

By adopting Avestor’s Customizable Fund® model, Edwin Epperson achieved what many emerging managers struggle to balance: compliance, transparency, and scalability. The result is a smarter, investor-aligned fund ready to thrive in 2025 and beyond.

For fund managers seeking to modernize their structure and scale without chaos, Avestor’s Customizable Fund® isn’t just an alternative; it’s the new standard for private credit excellence.