VENTURE.co Fund Services and Blue Bridge Financial Partner to Strengthen Investor Operations and Support Scalable Growth BURLINGTON, VT – VENTURE.co Fund Services has partnered with Blue Bridge Financial to provide transfer agent services and deliver a unified investor operations platform that supports the firm’s continued expansion in small business equipment finance. “Blue Bridge Financial is committed to providing a strong experience for both borrowers and investors. VENTURE.co supports that commitment by helping us streamline workflows and strengthen transparency for our investor base,” Hannah Ganguzza, CFO, Blue Bridge Financial. Empowering Businesses Through Flexible Equipment Financing Blue Bridge Financial provides financing solutions for essential use equipment across construction, service, manufacturing, and other revenue producing sectors. As the firm grows its originations and investor base, reliable infrastructure and clear reporting have become critical to long term scalability. “Blue Bridge Financial is committed to providing a strong experience for both borrowers and investors. VENTURE.co supports that commitment by helping us streamline workflows and strengthen transparency for our investor base,” said Hannah Ganguzza, CFO, Blue Bridge Financial. “This partnership gives our team a modern operational foundation as we continue to support small and medium sized businesses nationwide.” A Unified Platform for Investor Operations Through this partnership, Blue Bridge Financial will adopt VENTURE.co’s full investor operations platform, including transfer agent services, subscription processing, document management, capital activity support, and investor reporting. The centralized environment provides accurate records, consistent communication, and a more efficient experience for investors and internal teams. “Blue Bridge Financial plays an important role in supporting business growth across essential industries. We are proud to provide the operational framework that supports their next stage of expansion and enhances the experience for their investors,” said Aaron Pollak, CEO of VENTURE.co Fund Services. About VENTURE.co Fund Services VENTURE.co delivers a complete ecosystem of services that support sponsors of alternative investments from capital raise to exit. As a transfer agent and fund administrator, VENTURE.co simplifies complex processes like subscription processing, investor onboarding, and transaction management, while maintaining the highest standards of compliance and security. Trusted by sponsors across asset classes, the firm combines scalable infrastructure with expert service to create seamless investor experiences and operational excellence.

President & CFO Nicholas Viens, President & CFO, serves as the primary operator across VENTURE.co's portfolio of financial services businesses. Find Nicholas at: LinkedIn Nick is President & CFO at VENTURE.co, where he serves as the primary operator across the company's portfolio of financial services businesses; including its SaaS platform, transfer agent, and formerly its FINRA-registered managing broker-dealer. Since joining in 2019, Nick has led finance, strategy, and execution across every function — scaling revenue, restructuring operations, and building the infrastructure to support the company's next phase of growth. In 2025, he co-founded the company's transfer agent business from concept through regulatory approval, further integrating the company's offerings. Nick holds FINRA Series 27 and Series 99 licenses and a B.S. in Accounting from Champlain College. His background in design and visual communication shapes both how the company operates and how it presents itself.

One year ago, we added transfer agent services to the VENTURE.co suite with a clear objective: modernize a function that sponsors depend on every day, but one that has historically lagged behind the rest of the private investment lifecycle. Transfer agent services are foundational to private funds, yet they’ve long been fragmented, manual, and disconnected from the systems used to raise capital and manage investor relationships. Rather than accept those limitations, we set out to build something different: a transfer agent designed for how sponsors actually operate today. Twelve months in, the results and the lessons are clear. This review is written for existing clients and prospective sponsors. I want to share what we’ve achieved, what we’ve learned, and how those insights continue to shape the future of the VENTURE.co Transfer Agent.  Why We Built a Transfer Agent in the First Place Fund managers consistently told us the same story: • Too many systems, none of them adequate • Too much manual reconciliation • Limited transparency for fund managers and LPs • Transfer Agents operating outside the core fundraising and servicing workflow Rather than layer yet another vendor onto an already complex stack, we made a deliberate decision: build Transfer Agent services directly into the VENTURE.co platform. By unifying onboarding, recordkeeping, capital activity, and reporting within a single digital environment, the Transfer Agent became more than an administrative requirement. It became a structural advantage for sponsors focused on scale and long-term investor confidence. A Transfer Agent Built for the Full Lifecycle, Not Just the Sale Capital formation is inherently transactional. Transfer Agent work is not. The sales side of the VENTURE.co platform is designed to support fundraising, syndication, subscriptions, and deal execution. The Transfer Agent operates as a distinct lifecycle layer, focused on long-term ownership, recordkeeping, and ongoing investor servicing. By establishing digital investor and ownership records at onboarding, the Transfer Agent creates a data foundation that persists well beyond the point of sale. The same records captured during subscription carry forward into ownership tracking, capital calls, distributions, reporting, and investor access, without being re-entered, re-keyed, or reconciled across systems. This separation is intentional. Sales workflows optimize for speed and conversion; Transfer Agent workflows optimize for accuracy, continuity, and regulatory readiness over time. When those layers are digitally integrated but operationally distinct, sponsors gain real efficiency as funds mature, investor activity increases, and reporting demands grow. The result is a service that doesn’t end when fundraising closes. It becomes more valuable with every interaction that follows. What We’ve Achieved and Learned From New Service to Core Infrastructure In twelve months, the VENTURE.co Transfer Agent has evolved from a newly launched service into a core operational layer for sponsors using the platform. Key outcomes include: Native investor onboarding and ownership records Digitized capital calls and distributions Streamlined reporting with audit-ready data Fewer manual handoffs between systems and service providers A refined onboarding process for closed offerings transitioning to Investor Relations Sponsors using the Transfer Agent experienced smoother operations, fewer errors, faster investor responses, and greater transparency across their offerings. Just as importantly, the Transfer Agent operates alongside the broader VENTURE.co ecosystem (the Investor Portal, Administrative Application, and Investor Relations tools) rather than apart from them. Multiple Onboarding Pathways One of the clearest lessons from our first year is that sponsors don’t all engage a Transfer Agent at the same point in the lifecycle. And they shouldn’t have to. While many sponsors use the VENTURE.co platform end-to-end, from capital raising through post-investment management, a meaningful number of clients over the past year have onboarded specifically for the post-investment phase. In those cases, fundraising and subscriptions occurred outside the platform, and the Transfer Agent was engaged to support ongoing ownership management, investor servicing, and reporting after the close. That reality forced us to think differently. And it made the product stronger. From Existing Records to a Digital Foundation Sponsors onboarding post-close often arrive with established investor records, ownership positions, and account structures maintained across spreadsheets, legacy systems, or third-party providers. Early on, it became clear that treating these clients as exceptions, or forcing them into a full fundraising workflow, would create unnecessary friction. Instead, we built a structured, repeatable workflow for ingesting existing data into the VENTURE.co Transfer Agent. That approach lets us establish clean, digital investor and ownership records while accurately populating positions, accounts, and ancillary details. The goal was to leverage data, not re-enter it. There’s naturally a learning curve when transitioning from legacy formats into a modern system. But over the past year, this process has matured into a smooth, reliable onboarding pathway that delivers the same long-term benefits as a full lifecycle implementation. One Transfer Agent, Multiple Paths In The broader takeaway here is simple. There is no single required path into a modern Transfer Agent. Some sponsors start with fundraising and remain on the platform throughout the full lifecycle. Others engage once capital is already raised and need a reliable, audit-ready system to manage ownership and investor relationships going forward. Both approaches are valid, and the VENTURE.co Transfer Agent is built to support them equally well. By supporting multiple onboarding pathways, we’ve stayed true to a principle that guided the product from the beginning: sponsors should be able to modernize their infrastructure without having to unwind their entire operating model on day one. What matters isn’t how a sponsor enters the platform. What matters is that once they do, they gain a single, integrated system built for accuracy, transparency, and scale. What Sponsors Have Told Us So Far We’re still early in the lifecycle, but consistent sponsor feedback has centered on a few clear themes. “We have one source of truth.” Sponsors frequently point to the value of maintaining investor and ownership data within a single system throughout the life of an investment. By avoiding repeated data transfers between vendors, records stay cleaner, more accurate, and easier to maintain as funds grow more complex. “Investor questions dropped. Fast.” When investors can access the same platform for onboarding, documents, distributions, and reporting, transparency improves and friction goes down. Sponsors report fewer inbound questions and faster resolution when inquiries do come in, freeing their teams to focus on higher-value work. “This feels built for sponsors, not just administrators.” By aligning Transfer Agent workflows with how sponsors actually operate (raising capital, communicating with investors, managing funds over time) the service feels like an extension of the sponsor’s own operating model, not a disconnected back-office function. What We’ve Learned Along the Way Integration Matters More Than Customization One of the clearest lessons from year one is that integration consistently outperforms customization. Sponsors place far more value on fewer systems and cleaner data flows than on highly configurable but isolated tools. Transfer Agent Is an Investor Experience Function Transfer Agent work has traditionally been invisible to investors, until something goes wrong. By making these services part of the investor-facing experience, sponsors build credibility and long-term trust with their LPs. Digital Recordkeeping Is Now Table Stakes Regulatory readiness, auditability, and data security are no longer future considerations. Sponsors increasingly view modern, digital Transfer Agent infrastructure as a risk-mitigation strategy, not just an efficiency play. Looking Ahead As we move into year two, our focus remains clear: • Continue refining sponsor workflows • Expand lifecycle-based reporting and automation • Deepen investor transparency where it delivers real operational value Every enhancement we release, and every feature on the roadmap, is shaped by real-world usage and sponsor feedback. The objective hasn’t changed: make Transfer Agent services something sponsors don’t have to think about, because they simply work. Final Thought A year in, the strongest validation isn’t adoption metrics or feature lists (although we’re proud of how well the market has received us). It’s hearing sponsors say they can’t imagine going back to the old way of managing ownership and investor records. We’re grateful to the clients who trusted us early, challenged our assumptions, and helped shape what the VENTURE.co Transfer Agent has become, and what it’s still becoming. If you’re a sponsor evaluating how Transfer Agent services fit into your broader operating model, we’d welcome the conversation.

Chief Revenue Officer Tony has been with VENTURE.co since 2025 and oversees all transfer agent service operations as well as leading the business development team. Find Tony at: tony@venture.co LinkedIn Tony brings extensive experience in fund administration and a strong background in transfer agent systems to his role as Chief Revenue Officer at VENTURE.co Fund Services. Throughout his career, he has played a pivotal role in optimizing operational efficiencies and simplifying complex financial processes. His expertise spans alternative investment funds, regulatory compliance, and investor services, positioning him as a recognized leader in driving innovation and operational excellence.  At VENTURE.co , Tony focuses on expanding the firm’s technology capabilities, refining service delivery, and ensuring a seamless investor experience. His comprehensive understanding of fund structures, paired with his commitment to delivering advanced administrative solutions, makes him an integral force in VENTURE.co ’s continued growth and leadership in the fund services sector.

Director of Engineering & QA Christa Ferrari, Director of Engineering & QA, leads engineering and product functions and sits on VENTURE.co 's leadership team, and Board of Directors. Find Christa at: LinkedIn Christa leads VENTURE.co 's engineering and product functions, overseeing team planning, delivery, and quality assurance. She sits on the leadership team and works across departments to ensure alignment and execution. Prior to VENTURE.co , Christa held roles in operations, administration, and team leadership. She brings a focus on organization and cross-functional coordination. Christa's focus is on supporting strong execution, thoughtful communication, and reliable service outcomes to ensure each solution aligns with client needs and supports their long term operational success. In her free time, Christa enjoys year-round hiking with her husband and dogs. She also loves cooking and gardening while creating blooming spaces for local pollinators.

Chief Operations Officer Jason Plaza, MBA, CMA, CSCA sets operational strategy and designs the systems that support sponsors and investors. Find Jason at: LinkedIn Jason is the Chief Operations Officer at VENTURE.co , where he sets operational strategy and designs the systems that support sponsors and investors throughout the investment lifecycle. With eighteen years of experience across the investment industry, including the past five focused on alternative investments, Jason has developed a strategic approach to operations that balances scalability, compliance, and investor experience. He determines how technology, process, and people align to support growth, and has led the architecture of internal platforms that manage contract lifecycles, client relationships, and cross-functional workflows across the company's cloud infrastructure. Jason holds an MBA from Champlain College and maintains both the CMA and CSCA certifications. His focus is on identifying where legacy systems constrain growth and designing the replacements that remove those constraints.

Founder & CEO Aaron Pollak founded VENTURE.co in 2014 and has established himself as a leader in the alternative investment industry. Find Aaron at: LinkedIn Aaron is the Founder & CEO of VENTURE.co , a financial services and technology company headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. Since founding the firm in 2014, Aaron has led the development of a purpose-built platform for alternative investments — combining private placement execution, digital investor onboarding, and transfer agent services to support fund sponsors throughout the full investor lifecycle. Aaron serves as Chair of the Technology & Operations Committee and as a Board Member at ADISA, the Alternative & Direct Investment Securities Association. Prior to launching VENTURE.co , he served as a Registered Principal, holding Series 7 and Series 24 licenses while advising on private placements, capital acquisition, and corporate strategy. Aaron holds dual bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Power Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with additional concentration in economics, management, and advanced manufacturing.

Senior Account Manager Ashley joined VENTURE.co in 2025 and manages key client relationships while guiding smooth onboarding, investor communication, and ongoing account support. Find Ashley at: ashley@venture.co LinkedIn Ashley Dixon is a Senior Account Manager at VENTURE.co . In her role, Ashley manages key client relationships and ensures seamless service delivery across onboarding, investor relations, and ongoing account support. She brings more than a decade of experience in client relations, implementation, and operations, which has strengthened her ability to anticipate client needs, deliver high quality service, and support complex workflows. At VENTURE.co , Ashley uses this background to build trust, maintain clear communication, and deliver consistent results throughout the investor journey. Her commitment to client satisfaction and operational integrity supports long-term relationships and reinforces a strong standard of service across the platform.

Senior Account Manager Le Nora joined VENTURE.co in 2025 to support key client relationships while guiding smooth onboarding, investor communication, and ongoing account support. Find lenora@venture.co Le Nora Ellison comes to Venture.co with over eleven years of Transfer Agent experience in Alternative Investments. Having held several positions throughout her career Le Nora has a wealth of knowledge regarding New Investments, Account Maintenance, Transfers and Liquidations, and much more. As one of our Sr. Account Managers Le Nora is able to guide you through the full lifecycle of your fund while supporting your investor and advisor needs.

Investor trust is built through consistency, and few moments test that trust more directly than the movement of capital. While strategy, performance, and communication often receive the most attention, Paying Agent Services play a critical role in shaping how investors evaluate a fund’s professionalism, reliability, and credibility.   For investors, payments are tangible. They are not projections, narratives, or future expectations. They are outcomes. When Paying Agent Services operate accurately and predictably, confidence is reinforced. When they do not, concerns surface quickly and linger longer than most sponsors expect.   The Role Paying Agent Services Play Across the Investor Lifecycle   Paying Agent Services are responsible for managing the flow of capital between sponsors and investors. This includes processing distributions, applying payment instructions, validating investor records, and ensuring proceeds align with governing documents.   Because these responsibilities occur later in the investor lifecycle, Paying Agent Services are often viewed as routine or administrative. In practice, they represent one of the most visible moments of execution. Investors may tolerate delays in reporting or occasional onboarding questions, but inaccuracies tied to Paying Agent Services are far less forgivable.   When payments arrive on time and in the correct amounts, Paying Agent Services quietly confirm that earlier operational commitments were real and dependable.   Where Paying Agent Services Create Risk   Even minor breakdowns in Paying Agent Services can create outsized impact. Incorrect amounts, delayed distributions, or inconsistent application of payment instructions trigger immediate scrutiny from investors and advisors.   These issues are difficult to contextualize away. Errors tied to Paying Agent Services affect cash flow and financial planning, which makes them personal. Once uncertainty enters the picture, restoring confidence becomes significantly harder than preventing the issue in the first place.   Unlike upstream operational issues that can often be resolved internally, failures in Paying Agent Services are experienced directly by investors.   Paying Agent Services as a Signal of Operational Discipline   Consistent Paying Agent Services send a clear signal that a sponsor operates with control, discipline, and accountability. Investors interpret accurate payment execution as evidence that underlying systems, data governance, and oversight are functioning properly.   Strong Paying Agent Services also influence long-term behavior. Investors who experience reliable payments are more likely to reinvest, maintain commitments, and recommend a sponsor to peers. In this way, Paying Agent Services contribute to relationship durability, not just transactional success.   Accuracy becomes a differentiator even when it is never explicitly marketed.   Why Scale Raises the Stakes for Paying Agent Services   As investor bases grow, Paying Agent Services become more complex. More investors introduce more payment scenarios, more instructions, and more exceptions that must be handled correctly every time.   Without structured Paying Agent Services, scale introduces risk. Manual intervention becomes harder to manage, reconciliation takes longer, and small inconsistencies multiply across a larger investor population. Firms that invest early in repeatable, accurate Paying Agent Services are better positioned to grow without eroding investor confidence.   Precision at scale is not accidental. It is the result of intentional design and oversight.   The Investor Perspective Is Unforgiving   From an investor’s point of view, Paying Agent Services are judged on outcomes, not effort. Investors do not see internal workflows, reconciliations, or exception handling. They see whether funds arrive when expected and whether amounts align with communications they received.   This perspective is unforgiving by design. Investors assume that Paying Agent Services are controlled, repeatable, and dependable. When payments fall short of that expectation, the issue is rarely viewed as isolated. Instead, it raises broader questions about accuracy, oversight, and reliability across the fund.   Strong Paying Agent Services protect sponsors from those doubts by delivering certainty where investors expect it most.   Building Confidence Through Paying Agent Services   At their core, Paying Agent Services are not simply about moving money. They are about delivering certainty at a critical point in the investor relationship.   Accurate, consistent Paying Agent Services reinforce trust when it matters most. They validate expectations set throughout the lifecycle and demonstrate operational maturity without requiring explanation.   For sponsors, excellence in Paying Agent Services becomes a quiet advantage. Investors may not praise it openly, but they remember when it works and they remember when it does not.

2025 marked a defining year for VENTURE.co , as the firm continued its evolution into a full-lifecycle fund services partner. Throughout the year, every expansion, hire, and platform enhancement was guided by a singular focus: building reliable infrastructure that supports scale while delivering a clear and consistent investor experience.    Launch of Transfer Agent Services  The official launch of Transfer Agent Services represented a major milestone for VENTURE.co in 2025. This expansion completed the firm’s ability to support sponsors across the full fund lifecycle, from investor onboarding and subscription processing through ongoing record-keeping, reporting, distributions, and investor servicing.  By embedding transfer agent services directly within the VENTURE.co platform, sponsors benefited from fewer handoffs, stronger data continuity, and greater visibility into investor activity. The result was a more connected operating model that reduced friction, strengthened accuracy, and reinforced trust across all stakeholders.    Platform Scale and Impact   2025 represented a meaningful step forward in both platform adoption and operational volume. Over the course of the year, the VENTURE.co platform supported $1.3 billion USD in assets transacted, reflecting increased sponsor confidence and sustained growth across alternative investment strategies.  This activity was driven by consistent execution at the investor level. 8,120 investors were onboarded through structured workflows designed to prioritize accuracy, completeness, and efficiency. Each onboarding event reinforced the importance of dependable processes that scale without sacrificing clarity or control.  In total, 47 entities were serviced throughout the year, spanning a range of fund structures and operational requirements. Supporting this breadth required a platform capable of handling complexity while maintaining consistency across reporting, record-keeping, and investor servicing. As transaction volume increased, the platform continued to deliver stability and transparency across every stage of the lifecycle.    Strategic Team Expansion  As the platform scaled, VENTURE.co made deliberate investments in its people to ensure service quality grew alongside operational volume.  The firm welcomed Tony Olivo to lead and expand transfer agent services, bringing deep industry experience and a strong emphasis on operational discipline and client service. His leadership strengthened internal processes and helped align service delivery with the growing needs of sponsors and investors.  Alongside this leadership addition, VENTURE.co expanded its client service team with the hiring of experienced account managers, including Ashley Dixon, to ensure sponsors and investors received consistent, high-touch support as fund structures and investor bases grew more complex. The expanded team brings more than 15 years of industry experience across transfer agent services, fund administration, and investor servicing, strengthening day-to-day execution and deepening client relationships. This investment reinforced VENTURE.co ’s commitment to accountability, service continuity, and long-term partnership at scale.    Expanded Platform Functionality  Platform development remained a core focus throughout the year as VENTURE.co continued to enhance functionality in support of scale, accuracy, and transparency.  Improvements to investor onboarding workflows, document processing, reporting capabilities, and task management helped sponsors reduce manual effort while improving visibility across fund operations. Each enhancement was informed by real-world use cases and direct client feedback, ensuring the platform evolved in step with operational realities.  These updates strengthened the platform’s ability to support increasingly complex fund structures while preserving consistency and control.    Looking Ahead  The progress made in 2025 laid a strong foundation for continued growth. With transfer agent services fully integrated, more than $1.36 billion in assets supported, thousands of investors onboarded, an expanded service team, and enhanced platform functionality, VENTURE.co enters 2026 well-positioned for what’s next.  As the firm looks ahead, the focus remains unchanged: helping sponsors operate with confidence and delivering a dependable investor experience from subscription through exit.

Family offices play a unique role in the alternative investment ecosystem. They are long-term allocators, deeply relationship-driven, and often involved well beyond capital commitments. While their structures and mandates vary, expectations around transparency, control, and execution tend to be consistently high.   For sponsors seeking to attract and retain family office capital, operational infrastructure matters more than ever.   Family offices evaluate more than strategy and returns. They assess how a fund operates, how information flows, and how confidently a sponsor can manage complexity over time. Strong operations signal discipline, stability, and readiness to support sophisticated capital partners.   Why Family Offices Think Differently   Unlike institutional investors bound by formal processes or retail investors navigating standardized experiences, family offices operate with flexibility and scrutiny. Many manage capital across generations and value consistency as much as performance.   They expect: Clear visibility into holdings and capital activity Reliable reporting that supports internal analysis Direct access to accurate records and documentation Confidence that processes will hold up as allocations evolve Operational gaps are not viewed as growing pains. They are viewed as risk.   Operations as a Trust Signal   Family offices often build relationships slowly and deliberately. Early interactions with a fund shape long-term perception. Clean onboarding, timely confirmations, and organized documentation all contribute to trust well before performance can be evaluated.   Transfer agent services play a central role in this experience. Accurate investor records, disciplined data management, and consistent execution create the foundation family offices rely on when allocating capital across multiple strategies and entities.   When those systems function smoothly, confidence follows. When they do not, concerns surface quickly.   The Role of Technology in Family Office Engagement   Family offices increasingly expect access to modern tools that support transparency and efficiency. They want information that is easy to retrieve, clearly presented, and dependable.   A well-designed platform supports this expectation by centralizing investor data, streamlining document workflows, and delivering consistent reporting. It reduces manual follow-up, limits confusion, and allows sponsors to respond to inquiries with confidence.   Technology alone does not replace service. It strengthens it.   Transfer Agent Services as a Differentiator   For family offices, the transfer agent is not a back-office function. It is an extension of the sponsor’s credibility. The ability to manage investor records accurately, process activity efficiently, and maintain clean data over time directly impacts the investor experience.   Sponsors that invest in strong transfer agent services demonstrate readiness to support sophisticated capital. They signal that growth will not compromise accuracy or service quality as complexity increases.   Attracting Long-Term Capital   Family offices value partnerships built for durability. They gravitate toward sponsors that prioritize structure, clarity, and consistency across the full investor lifecycle.   Operational discipline, supported by experienced transfer agent services and modern platform infrastructure, sends a clear message. The fund is prepared. The systems are sound. The experience is intentional.   In an increasingly competitive alternative investment landscape, these signals matter.