About Thomas
Most people in private markets tell you what they’ve built. I’d rather tell you what I’ve gotten wrong… and how that changed the way I evaluate everything.
“I didn’t inherit a head start. I went to the library.”
I didn’t inherit a head start.
My dad spent 32 years working in a power plant. Shift work. Coal dust. Fly ash. When he retired, the company gave him a telescope.
I stood there looking at that thing in the box and understood something clearly: if I stayed on the path I was on… trading time for money, doing what everyone said I was supposed to do… I’d end up in the same place.
So I went to the library. Because that’s what I could afford. I read everything I could find on building real wealth. Then I found a guy who owned 12 rental properties and called him until he let me work for free. I cleaned out vacants, hauled trash, painted walls. Then we’d go to lunch and I’d ask him everything.
That was 2006. What followed was two decades inside real estate and private markets: single-family houses, multifamily complexes, deals that went sideways, deals that performed. I raised capital, managed properties, and spent years studying what actually separates operators who deliver from operators who pitch.
I’ve been on the wrong end of a capital call. I’ve watched promising deals fall apart because the underwriting was wishful thinking. I’ve seen operators who looked great on paper disappear when things got hard.
That experience isn’t a liability. It’s the filter.
The Turning Point
2006
First Rental PropertyAfter years of reading and working for free, closed first deal right before Christmas.
2009
2015
2024
Not every deal makes the cut.
Here’s what does.
When I evaluate an operator or fund, I’m looking for the same things I’d want if I were the investor sitting across the table — because I usually am.
03
Long lockups with no clarity aren’t capital allocation — they’re hope. I want a clear path.
02
01
Operators paid on performance
Not on fees. Their upside should be tied to yours — not to assets under management.
06
If it’s hard to get straight answers before you invest, it won’t get easier after. That’s a hard pass.
05
Anyone looks good in a bull market. I want to see how they handled 2009 — or whatever the hardest year was.
04
I don’t care about the ceiling until I understand the floor. Conservative underwriting only.
The Standard
Where I’m focused right now.
Two areas I’ve spent significant time studying — both filling gaps that traditional institutions ignore.
private real estate
Private Land & Real Estate Debt
Traditional banks don’t love gap financing and raw land. That gap creates consistent deal flow for disciplined operators with a track record of deploying and returning capital — while most investors are still chasing multifamily syndications.
Senior-secured debt positions
Monthly cash flow distributions
Conservative, gap-filling structure
Small Business Lending Fund
Getting a small business loan through traditional channels takes six to nine months with no guarantee. The best-positioned businesses don’t wait. This fund cherry-picks the highest-quality borrowers — $3M+ revenue, 10+ years in business — and funds them directly.
$1B+ deployed by operating partners
Avg. borrower: $3M revenue, 10yr track record
Non-correlated to real estate cycles
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Plain-English deal summaries — what it is, who’s running it, why I considered it, and what I actually think
Weekly perspective on private markets, alternative assets, and what I’m watching
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“Finally found someone who speaks plainly about what these deals actually are — and what they aren’t. Thomas doesn’t hype. He just explains.”
M.R. — Business Owner
Investor, 3 years
“I’ve been through three syndicators who promised the world. With Northcorp, I actually understand what I’m investing in before I sign anything. Big difference.”
D.K. — Real Estate Professional
Self-directed IRA investor
“The education alone is worth your time. I’ve learned more about evaluating private deals from Thomas’s newsletter than from any course I’ve taken.”
S.T. — Healthcare Professional
Passive investor
Current Focus
FAQS
What exactly is North Corp Capital, and how are you structured?
North Corp Capital, LLC is a Fund of Funds. Rather than originating and managing loans or real estate directly, we identify, vet, and aggregate capital into private credit and real estate debt run by experienced, specialized operators. Your job is manager selection, due diligence, structuring, and ongoing oversight of the sponsors we invest alongside — not day-to-day asset management.
In plain terms: you invest with North Corp Capital, and North Corp Capital invests — as a single, larger check — into the underlying sponsor funds we’ve selected.
If you’re a Fund of Funds, why not just go directly to the sponsor?
You could — but you’ll likely get a smaller allocation, less favorable terms, and none of the diligence, aggregation, or ongoing oversight North Corp Capital provides.
You’re also gaining our underwriting. We evaluate the sponsor’s track record, structure, alignment, and the specific deal or fund before a dollar is committed — work most individual investors’ not positioned to do to the same depth.
How do you make money?
We’re compensated through a management fee and/or a share of profits (carried interest) on the capital we aggregate and place — clearly disclosed in the offering documents for each vehicle before you invest.
This is the same basic structure used across the private fund industry, including by the sponsor funds we invest in ourselves. Because we invest our own capital in every deal before offering it to you, our fee and our return are tied to the same outcome as yours; the underlying fund performing.
Do you invest your own capital in these deals?
Yes — in every deal, before it’s ever offered to investors. This is a firm policy, not a marketing line. We don’t ask investors to take on exposure we haven’t taken on ourselves, at meaningful size, first.
This is the core of how we think about alignment: if a deal isn’t enough for our own capital, it’s not good enough for yours.
My financial advisor said this is riskier than what I normally do. Is that true?
Private alternatives carry a different risk profile than publicly traded stocks and bonds —not necessarily a higher one, but a different one. They’re typically illiquid (capital is committed for a defined hold period), less transparent day-to-day than a public security with a real-time price, and dependent on the skill of the sponsor managing the underlying assets.
In exchange, investors are often compensated with a illiquidity premium, cash-flow-focused income, and lower correlation to public market volatility
which is exactly why institutions and endowments have long allocated meaningfully to this space. We’d encourage you to have this exact conversation with your advisor using our offering documents. We are glad to speak with your advisor directly as well. Informed skepticism is healthy and we’d rather you invest with clarity than none at all.
I already have a financial advisor/money guy—why would I need you too?
You don’t need to choose between us. Most of our investors keep their existing advisor for their core portfolio — stocks, bonds, retirement accounts, financial planning — and allocate a portion of their capital to private alternatives through North Corp Capital specifically because most traditional advisory platforms don’t have access to, or expertise in, this asset class. We are a specialist in one thing: sourcing and vetting private credit and real estate debt opportunities. We’re happy to work alongside your advisor, not instead of them.
Can I compound my distributions instead of taking them as cash?
In many of our offerings, yes — investors can elect to reinvest distributions rather than receive them in cash, allowing returns to compound over the hold period rather than being distributed out. Availability depends on the specific underlying fund’s structure and terms, so this is confirmed deal-by-deal in the offering documents before you commit.
What's the minimum investment, and who can invest?
Minimums and investor eligibility (typically accredited investor status) vary by offering and are stated in each deal’s specific documents. Ask us about the current opportunity you’re considering and we’ll walk you through the specifics.
What happens if I need my capital back early?
These are illiquid investments by design — capital is generally committed for the fund’s stated hold period, with limited or no early-redemption options. This is true of the underlying sponsor funds and passes through to our investors. We only recommend allocating capital you won’t need for the duration of the hold period, and we’ll walk through the expected timeline with you before you invest.
Stop rowing harder. Get in a better boat.
Your money should work as hard as you do. Join the Inbox Income
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straight talk to evaluate them yourself.
Northcorp Capital
— Thomas St. John