Nick Cooley

Nick Cooley: From Single-Family to Scalable Freedom

Nick Cooley doesn’t waste time chasing complexity. He builds quietly, deliberately, always with an eye toward asymmetric upside.

‍

His journey into real estate started the way most good stories do, with a friend and a simple, powerful idea. At a New Year’s Eve party, a college football buddy introduced him to real estate investing. “You buy a house,” the friend said, “and someone else pays it off.” That one sentence changed everything.

‍

Nick and his wife Hannah started buying single-family properties around Denver in 2016. They were in deep. But by 2021, they’d hit a wall.

‍

The single-family route was proving slow, inefficient, and increasingly capped. So they made the hard call, and sold everything. Walked away from the portfolio they’d spent five years building. It wasn’t failure, it was discipline. They were trading good for better.

‍

Today, Nick’s focus is on multifamily. The model is simple, buy existing apartment buildings that already cash flow. Improve operations. Create value. Unlike ground-up development, there’s no waiting two or three years to see revenue. “Even if it’s only 50% occupied at closing,” he says, “that’s still 50% more than development. Day-one income means less downside.”

‍

This is how Nick thinks. Every move he makes is anchored in one question, what’s the floor? He doesn’t speculate. He doesn’t chase lottery tickets. “We structure everything around asymmetric risk,” he says. “We grow without resetting the clock.”

‍

The mindset shift was reinforced inside the Club. “Paul puts words to what you already know to be true,” Nick says. “It’s like hearing a thought you’ve had your whole life, finally said out loud.” The frameworks gave him language. The people gave him perspective. Together, they sharpened his edge.

‍

Now, Nick and his partners are raising their first dedicated fund, $20 million of equity to acquire more apartment buildings under their Jericho and Rodeo banners. It’s not about empire-building, it’s about leverage. The right people, the right partners, the right deals. That’s their only real advantage.

‍

He’s not doing it for a flashy exit. He’s doing it for time. Nick and Hannah are expecting their first child, and every decision today is about earning freedom tomorrow.

‍

“Success right now isn’t balance, it’s momentum. We’re growing so future-Nick can choose balance later.”

‍