Podcast Summary: The Code To Winning, Episode 081
AVIATION, TRUSTS & BUSINESS FUNDING: THE SECRETS NO ONE TALKS ABOUT
Guest: Azure Calder
Host: Kagiso Dikane
Date: March 20, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features Azure Calder, a seasoned mortgage and business funding expert, as she reveals lesser-known strategies for generating wealth via mortgage, venture capital, aviation investments, and trust structures. Azure candidly shares her journey from a challenging upbringing to building multiple revenue streams, and offers actionable insights for entrepreneurs seeking funding and tax efficiency. The episode is practical and empowering, especially for those wanting to accelerate their own financial journeys beyond conventional paths.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Azure Calder’s Background and Early Career

• Challenging Beginnings: Azure grew up in a disadvantaged family with substance abuse, believing “success” meant $50,000/year, possibly through marriage ([02:28], Azure).
• Forced Responsibility: Married and divorced by 20, adopting two siblings by age 22—suddenly “four kids and me…, working a normal job that was not paying the bills” ([03:07]).
• Entry into Mortgage: Fell into loan processing, then quickly excelled, making six figures in her early 20s ([03:32]). Within a year, became office manager and later, a top-earning loan officer ([04:19]).
• Early Setbacks and Resilience: Started her mortgage brokerage in 2006, but lost everything in the 2008 market crash ([04:52]). Rebuilt from having only $250, becoming a millionaire in five years ([05:35]).
• Quote: “I realized that money comes from the things that you enjoy without stressing you out doing it” ([00:53], Azure).

2. The 60% APY Venture Capital Model

• Product Overview: Individuals can invest with a minimum of $10,000, maximum $500,000 ([09:13]), in a venture capital product yielding 5% monthly (60% APY), secured by investing in business acquisitions ([08:03]).
• Investor Structure: No equity ownership; it’s not a typical VC model. Funds are tied up for 12 months, with the option to reinvest ([10:01]).
• Company Track Record: The underlying business has operated since 2018, this specific product for ~1 year ([10:21]).
• Transparency for Trust: Azure personally invests her own money at the maximum allowed, and is open to showing her deposit proofs to skeptics ([11:13]).
• Regulatory Update: Initially, a surety bond was used for added confidence but was phased out per FTC requests ([11:40]).
• Quote: “You don’t have to do mortgage to do it. There’s a lot easier ways to make big money that people just are unaware of.” ([00:57], Azure)

3. Business Funding Secrets

• Services Provided: Azure’s company offers a hand-holding, customized process to secure business funding ($500,000 - $750,000 possible within four months) ([12:53], [17:26]).
  • Includes credit repair, business structure optimization (website, phone, genuine business address, etc.), and tailored loan sourcing ([17:26]).
• Fee Structure: Typically 12% of proceeds, deducted directly from the funding, not upfront ([15:16]).
• Flexible for New Businesses: There are “stated income” options, projection-based loans, and nuanced approaches for those with weak credit ([16:24]).
• Role of Home Equity: Many leverage home equity lines for investment, generating far more in returns than the loan costs ([13:42]).
• Turnaround: Full process can take 4 months, including necessary credit and business “clean up" ([17:26], [18:54]).
• Quote: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” ([34:25], Azure)

4. Aviation Investment and Tax Strategy

• Fractional Jet Ownership Model: Investors purchase 1/10 of a private jet (typically $2.5M jet, $250,000 per share) ([19:58], [22:17]).
  • Tax Advantage: Thanks to 100% first-year depreciation, investors recoup the investment via tax deduction in year one ([21:30]).
  • Charter Income + Exit: Investors receive proportional earnings from the charter operation, and participate in the equity gain when jets are sold after 3-5 years, before maintenance costs spike ([22:06]).
• Limitation: Minimum investment is $250,000; participants are non-voting owners ([22:17], [24:07]).
• Quote: “If you can get your money recouped in the first year, everything else is icing on the cake.” ([22:57], Azure)

5. The Power of Trusts for Tax Efficiency

• Trust Structures for Wealth: Azure explains layering trusts to “kick the can on your tax liability every single year forever” ([29:33]).
  • Passive income can flow through trusts, with strategies to defer taxable events legally; more advanced structures can handle W2 income ([29:33]).
• Challenge Finding Expertise: She describes how most trust attorneys didn’t know about these strategies, underscoring the knowledge gap ([29:33]).
• Candid Example: "I paid 240,000 in taxes in 2020 and I was like, wow, that was stupid. And now...I could have saved myself a lot of money" ([33:10]).
• Quote: “There is a better way. It’s not going to be free, it’s going to cost you money. But as much as you’re throwing towards taxes, it’s going to be nothing in your lifetime. So sooner the better.” ([33:33], Azure)

6. Coaching and Hands-on Guidance

• Custom Pathways: Azure offers personalized guidance for clients at every level, from credit repair to advanced investing, often without a coaching fee (currently) ([34:25], [35:59]).
• Emphasis: Meet people where they are, and walk them up the wealth ladder, demystifying the steps ([34:27], [35:59]).

Memorable Quotes & Noteworthy Moments

• Early adversity to success:
  “So there was four kids and me. And me just working a normal job that was not paying the bills and trying to find my way. And I kind of stumbled into mortgage as a loan processor. And within a year, I was making six figures.”
  — Azure ([03:07])
• Realization about money:
  “Money comes from the things that you enjoy without stressing you out doing it.”
  — Azure ([00:53])
• On the 60% APY product:
  “You give them the money and they give you 5% every single month. It equates to 60% per year. I don’t know any other returns that you can get on an investment that you’re going to get 60 stable and guaranteed for 12 months.”
  — Azure ([08:03])
• Brutally honest on taxes:
  “I paid 240,000 in taxes in 2020 and I was like, wow, that was stupid. And now looking back, I’m like, can I go back? You can’t go back.”
  — Azure ([33:10])
• On the value of time freedom:
  “Time freedom. I think we’re always trying to fight for that, right? Trying to make more time to do the things that give us joy.”
  — Azure ([37:21])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Azure’s Background and Mortgage Journey: [00:00]–[07:49]
• Venture Capital, 60% APY Model: [07:49]–[12:13]
• Business Funding Strategies: [12:13]–[19:38]
• Aviation Investment Model: [19:38]–[25:12]
• Advanced Investment Insights & What People Are Missing: [25:12]–[29:22]
• Trusts and Tax Minimization: [29:22]–[34:25]
• Coaching & Client Guidance: [34:25]–[36:12]
• Definition of Winning, Time Freedom: [37:21]–[41:04]
• Contact and Final Thoughts: [41:04]–[41:36]

Conclusion: What Does ‘Winning’ Mean to Azure Calder?

“Time freedom… Trying to make more time to do the things that give us joy… Now I realized I don’t have to [sacrifice personal life]. I just had to change some gears. So I’m very happy about that.”
— Azure Calder ([37:21])

How to Connect

• Instagram: @azure_caldermortgagegoddess ([41:04])
• Other contact info in episode description

Summary prepared for listeners who want actionable insights into modern wealth-building techniques, creative funding, tax-efficient investing, and the importance of expert guidance.