Epstein & Associates, Inc.
Sep 2000 – Apr 2001 · 8 months · Full-time
Rockville, MD (on-site)

Project: StarCompliance
Work Locations:

• Phase 2: 600 Jefferson Plaza, Suite 316, Rockville, MD 20850

Project Phase: Post-funding product development and expansion

Role Overview (Phase 2)

Following initial funding, my role shifted from proof-of-concept development to building production-oriented systems to support scalable compliance workflows. I developed automated programs to retrieve prospectus filings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission via EDGAR and implemented parsing pipelines to extract structured data for downstream use.

Using regular expressions, I identified and normalized data patterns from unstructured regulatory filings and imported the results into a Microsoft SQL Server database. This work enabled consistent querying, validation, and report generation across large volumes of filings.

Data Pipeline, QA, & Schema Design

To support data accuracy and operational review, I built an internal web-based interface that allowed the QA team to inspect parsed data, validate extracted fields, and make corrections where needed. This feedback loop helped refine parsing logic and improve reliability over time.

I also led the architectural design of a normalized database schema and produced a comprehensive data dictionary to document tables, relationships, and field definitions. This documentation served as a shared reference point for developers working across ingestion, reporting, and application layers.

Reporting & Compliance Analysis

Using classic ASP, I generated prospectus reports directly from the imported data, highlighting missing, inconsistent, or non-compliant disclosures. These reports supported compliance review by surfacing gaps that would have been difficult to identify through manual document inspection alone.

In addition to data extraction, the system accounted for statutory references within filings, enabling cross-referencing between regulations, acts, and cited sections to improve traceability and regulatory context.

Product Context: StarCompliance

StarCompliance.com was the flagship product of Epstein & Associates, Inc., designed to deliver web-based compliance tools for professionals operating in highly regulated financial environments.

The platform was intended to support:

• Investment companies
• Investment advisers
• Broker-dealers
• Transfer agents
• Law firms and compliance service providers

The broader goal was to centralize regulatory reference materials, compliance tools, and reporting utilities into a single, web-oriented service.

Platform Capabilities (In Development)

Calendar Center

• Compliance scheduling
• Grid and flat calendar views

Database Center

• Searchable regulatory data
• Structured reporting outputs

Library Center

• Federal securities laws
• Federal Register
• Glossary of investment terms
• State “Blue Sky” laws

Tools Center

• Rule 15(c) reporting
• Proxy date calculator
• Draft board meeting agendas
• Organizational checklists
• Sample forms and procedures
• Tax diversification worksheet
• Schedules 13D/13G flow charts

Account Center

• User and account management

Historical Snapshot

A Wayback Machine snapshot of StarCompliance.com reflects the platform’s evolution during the early days of web-based compliance software, prior to modern SaaS tooling and standardized regulatory APIs.

Note: The archived homepage image shows missing or broken template graphics because early web assets were referenced, and the Internet Archive captured external resources. These gaps reflect archival limitations, not the original site’s functionality.

Industry Context

This phase of work coincided with increasing regulatory scrutiny around corporate governance and financial disclosure. As expectations for transparency and documentation grew, demand accelerated for structured compliance systems capable of handling large volumes of regulatory data with consistency and auditability.