Our Founders
Carson Faris
Carson Faris is the founding member of Relationship Based Capital and was responsible for the firms initial core investment strategy and relationship-based philosophy. Always curious, Carson works to discover new ways to work with and support people he trusts and cares about.
Carson is also acting CEO of Phoenix Investment Funds, a multi-strategy investment firm specializing in the acquisition and repositioning of real estate and debt instruments secured by commercial real estate. He is responsible for directing the firm’s investment strategy and is an active manager in all of the firm’s various funds and companies. Carson was also the founder and President of Western Bay Investments, a real estate development firm, as well as Fundamental Real Estate, a boutique real estate brokerage firm.
Prior to founding Western Bay, Carson acted as Director of Development for Red Mountain Group, Inc., where he oversaw the company’s diverse and growing national development portfolio. It was also during this busy time that he was elected President of the Association of Southern California Real Estate Executives and founded the Real Estate Industry Network.
Carson discovered his true passion for business in the late 1990s when serving as a Senator for the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Lubar School of Business and developing a diverse group of small companies. He credits these first companies with providing him with a deep understanding of business fundamentals, the value of integrity, and the importance of relationships.
Nick Coo
Nick comes to RBC with 25 years of real estate investment experience. As an original founding member of brokerage firm Faris Lee Investments in 1996, his professional experience includes investment underwriting, brokerage, debt financing and equity origination for partnerships, joint ventures or sponsored investments.
During his 23-year tenure at Faris Lee Investments, Nick provided advisory and brokerage services for numerous institutional and individual investors seeking to maximize value and manage risk within their portfolios. In 2010, he began raising equity for sponsored investments which spanned retail, multifamily, industrial and “ground-up” development opportunities.
Nick’s partnership with Carson originally began as an investor in the Phoenix Fund, Carson’s value add fund which purchased assets nationwide. Nick and Carson also partnered on direct real estate investments which furthered their relationship as investors and partners. They agreed that the success of their investment track record relied largely on the trust, transparency and diligence that comes from aligned relationships. Upon Nick’s transition out of brokerage in 2019, he sought out Carson where they have partnered to create RBC’s investment platform addressing the experience they want as real estate investors with the ability to offer it to others within their network.
A graduate of California State University, Fullerton – School of Business and Economics, Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics. He has been featured as a contributing author in several trade publications including Western Real Estate Business and Shopping Centers today. A lifetime resident of Orange County, California: Nick continues to live there with his wife Cristina and two daughters, Gigi and Luci.