Press Release

North Bay Business Journal, September, 2018 Issue

Mallorie Kerrigan

Husband and wife team, Darcy and Christopher Barrow, are the co-founders and co-managing partners of Foundation Homes International in Kentfield, specializing in managing, leasing and selling Marin, Sonoma and San Francisco properties. Founded in 2010, the firm has more than $100 million of long-term residential single-family homes under rental management. This year, they’re launching their nonprofit, LifeBoost Charity Fund, next year—aimed at helping people, the planet and pets. They live in San Rafael with their daughter, Scarlett, and three dogs. 

If you could change one thing about your spouse, what would it be?

Christopher: She hates the way I blow my nose. 

Darcy: There’s a rumor that I snore.

What’s the biggest challenge in working with your spouse? What’s the biggest reward?

Darcy: The biggest challenge is never being able to turn off work. The reward might be the same. Inspiration can strike at any moment, and your business partner is always there to bounce ideas off of.

What’s an average date night for you two?

Christopher: We have a standing date night once a week (except during NBA playoffs)—usually a local restaurant (Pico, Buckeye, or Farm Shop). We almost always Uber home. 

If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do? 

Christopher: Sit in on a pre-game coaching session with Warriors coach Steve Kerr. 

Darcy: I’d love to see what’s actually going on in the Oval Office!

What’s the most adventurous or daring thing you’ve ever done? 

Christopher: I jumped out of a plane in my 20s. 

Darcy: I wore a bikini in public a few months after giving birth. Other moms were like, “Wow, you’re so brave!” Perhaps I jumped into the swimsuit too soon, but life is too short to hide!

If you could cancel one vacation you’ve taken, lose all the memory of it, and get your money back, what vacation would you choose? 

Christopher: That’s easy—we had an awful trip to the Bahamas seven years ago. Half the hotel was shut down and boarded up. The food was terrible—canned fruit in syrup terrible, and it rained.  

Darcy: I’d disagree. It wasn’t our best trip, but you [Christopher] got to win the “Dance Dance Revolution” dance-off at the bar and a free drink ticket. I don’t believe in regrets, so I won’t give any of our memories back.

Are you a North Bay native? Where did you grow up?

Darcy: I was born and raised in Malibu. Almost every stereotype one might have about growing up in Malibu is true. We did go to school with movie stars and their kids, ditched school to be in the background of “Baywatch” episodes, and we wore flip flops every day. 

Christopher: Yes, third generation. My grandparents lived in San Francisco—my grandpa was a real estate developer in the 1940s and even wrote a book about how to negotiate a real estate deal. The book includes tactics like, “Only negotiate on an empty stomach, so the blood stays in your head, not your stomach.”

If you could keep only one home appliance, which would you keep?

Christopher: Washing machine. I do laundry like a mad man.

Darcy: Dishwasher. Otherwise we’d be eating on (recyclable) dishware every night.