Building a $30M Fund From the Ground Up with Alex Martyn

On Accredited Investors Only, host Peter Neill sits down with Alex Martyn to unpack a real-world journey from corporate finance to building a private lending fund that scales. Alex walks us through the wins, the failures, and the exact mechanics of how he and his partner transitioned from flips and rentals into a fund that serves passive investors with steady monthly returns.

Meet Alex Martyn: Delco roots, finance beginnings, and a real estate leap

Alex grew up in Delaware County (Delco), played college soccer, and earned a business management degree. He started his professional career as a financial advisor with all the licensing that comes with it, but one book changed everything: The Millionaire Fastlane by M.J. DeMarco. That blunt, no-fluff book gave him the permission to stop playing the traditional long game and pursue entrepreneurship—and specifically real estate.

He quit his nine-to-five, tried real estate full-time, hit a serious early setback, worked a short stint at SEI Investments, then kept networking and learning until he found traction. Alex’s path shows how repeated action, learning from mistakes, and relentless networking compound over time.

The failed first flip—and the lessons that mattered

Alex’s first flip failed not because the numbers were bad, but because of poor execution and a weak partner relationship. The mentor he partnered with was overcommitted and didn’t manage the project. Contractors underperformed, unexpected repairs ate profit, and a hard-money loan lingered too long.

“I learned to vet partners. The operator matters more than the deal itself.” — Alex Martyn

Key lessons Alex extracted:

• Vetting partners is as important (or more) than vetting numbers.
• Know how to manage contractors or have a team who does.
• Failure is a learning asset—use it to build competence and networks.

How Alex built momentum: licensing, flips, rentals, and the snowball effect

After the first failure, Alex became an inside sales agent to embed himself in real estate processes, earned his real estate license, and closed his second flip successfully. That success created momentum: a handful of flips, then building rental holdings. By 2020, Alex and his partner had roughly 12–15 doors and a steady cycle of flips.

Post-COVID (2021–2022), everything accelerated—Alex and his partner bought around 30–35 properties concentrated in Coatesville, leveraging a hyperlocal team that made operations efficient.

Why private lending—and how the transition happened

Deal flow slowed in 2023, but Alex was already raising private capital for his projects. Lenders who had trusted Alex began asking for opportunities to deploy capital themselves. Rather than chasing out-of-state strangers, Alex started lending to operators he already knew and trusted to see how those loans performed.

After a few successful cycles with known operators, the model became repeatable. That organic, relationship-driven growth led to a decision: turn private lending into a formal, scalable business—create a fund to receive investor capital, underwrite loans, and distribute monthly income to investors.

Fund structure vs. direct placement: why scale matters

Alex outlines the practical differences and why the fund model made sense for his business:

• Direct placement (one investor, one deal) became a money-management headache—constant back-and-forth wiring and chasing reinvestment.
• A fund pools capital, reduces administrative friction, and allows efficient redeployment of capital into many loans.
• Investors receive monthly income like a fixed-income product (high-yield CD-style), while the fund maintains first-lien positions across a diversified loan pool.
• A fund allows faster deployment, better risk mitigation through diversification, and predictable distributions to investors.

How Alex underwrites loans and vets borrowers

Underwriting is both quantitative and qualitative for Alex. The numbers need to make sense—but the operator’s character and execution capability are decisive.

Typical lending parameters and process:

• Target loan size: generally up to about 70% of After Repair Value (ARV). Occasionally, higher if the borrower is a proven, trusted operator in a market Alex knows well.
• 100% financing is possible for trusted borrowers when Alex’s team feels confident they could take the property back, finish it, and sell or refinance it themselves.
• Interest payment options: borrowers can prepay six months of interest at closing, or Alex’s fund can bake an interest reserve into the loan (interest reserve funds monthly investor distributions).
• Construction draws: most loans are paid on draws. Borrowers send photos/videos of progress (including front-address verification video) and request wire distributions.
• Inspections: typically remote (photos/videos); on-site inspections may be added if the borrower is new or if the fund scales into unfamiliar markets.

“The operator is the most important thing. Vetting the borrower is the biggest factor.” — Alex Martyn

Why Alex values relationships and conservative underwriting

Alex’s lending playbook is built on trust and reputation. Early loans were to operators he personally knew from the Philadelphia-area real estate community. New borrowers get a single-cycle proof-of-performance: one deal, complete it in full, and then the fund considers additional deals. That conservative approach limits exposure and builds a referral pipeline.

Alex also emphasizes morals and values—how the borrower will behave when things get tough is more predictive than spreadsheets. Will they protect investor capital, or will they prioritize their own upside first? Alex wants the former.

Market focus: Coatesville, Wilmington, Philly suburbs—and why the Mid-Atlantic wins

Alex’s investment geography is hyperlocal and pragmatic:

• Coatesville: Alex’s rentals are concentrated here because he has a trusted on-the-ground team and efficient operations.
• Wilmington, DE: Alex’s lending borrowers find value here—properties can still be purchased for 50 cents on the dollar and support full BRRRR strategies.
• South Jersey and Southeast PA: active borrower activity and strong deal flow.
• Philadelphia suburbs: intense competition on retail homes—multiple offers, waived inspections, and fast turnarounds in desirable submarkets.

His macro view: the Mid-Atlantic’s built environment and slower but steady appreciation makes it less volatile than Sun Belt markets that experienced sharp booms and corrections. Alex expects rents to plateau somewhat in the near term, but he remains bullish on the region’s long-term stability.

Practical advice: networking, conversations, and staying opportunistic

Alex strongly recommends picking up the phone and starting conversations—opportunities come from people. He schedules regular outreach into his calendar and treats networking as a core business function, not an afterthought.

“More people are willing to help than you think. Don’t skip conversations—you never know where they’ll lead.” — Alex Martyn

Five key takeaways

• Failure is a learning asset—use it to build competence and stronger systems.
• Relationships and reputation are central to scaling a lending business.
• Local market knowledge and reliable operations enable higher leverage (even 100% financing) in select situations.
• A pooled fund model is superior for scalability, predictability, and investor-friendly cash flow distribution.
• Adaptability—structuring creatively and pivoting strategies—beats trying to force a one-size-fits-all approach.

How to connect with Alex

If you want to learn more about Alex’s fund or discuss potential lending opportunities, reach out:

• Email: alex@spgcapital.com
• Website: www.spgcapital.com

Final thoughts

Alex’s story is a reminder that real estate entrepreneurship is iterative. You win some, you fail some, and you must keep layering relationships, systems, and conservatism into your model if you want to scale. Building a $30M fund is not just about being able to deploy capital—it’s about building trust, operational muscle, and a repeatable underwriting playbook that stands up when markets change.

If you found these lessons useful, consider listening to the full conversation on Accredited Investors Only for more context and the detailed Q&A that helped shape Alex’s approach.