Stories Behind the Door

Thaddeus Campbell
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Investing
  • Updated Weekly

Self-storage isn't just square footage — it's a booming industry powered by smart operators, bold investors, sharp brokers, and everyday people making things happen. Hosted by Thaddeus Campbell, Stories Behind the Door pulls back the curtain on the real players behind the deals, developments, and day-to-day grind. Every week, we sit down with the people who are shaping the future of storage and flex space — one story at a time. If you're in the business or thinking about getting in, this is your front-row seat.

  1. 1d ago

    Before AI, Gary Edmonds helped define Remote Management in Storage decades before AI existed!

    I sit down with Gary Edmonds, the former head of The Storage Manager, for a deeply insightful history lesson and operational reality check. Gary has spent a quarter-of-a-century operating, developing, and consulting within the storage vertical, tracking its transition from a niche real estate landhold into an intense institutional landscape. Gary maps out his entry into the space in 2001, shifting away from residential real estate after a friend's sudden divorce forced an emergency liquidation of properties. We look closely at the modern operational traps of 2026—where owners stack up recurring software costs without measuring true local ROI. Gary passes down his foundational advice on defending your cash flow against rising 40% expense ratios, why commercial/contractor tenants are the ultimate stable base, and why he and his wife Diane recently chose to step away from 90-hour property management weeks to focus back on their core investments. Key Takeaways From This Episode: Analyze True Competition: Why your neighborhood metrics matter more than flashy software sales pitches. Each layer of tech must generate clear returns or be cut from your margins. Safety Rules Over Aesthetics: Customers do not pick facilities based on the color of your roll-up doors. They choose assets based on the explicit safety and cleanliness they feel. The Commercial Trade-off: High-touch contractor clients demand early 6:30 AM gate availability and require frequent lot cleanups. However, they build out spaces like their own garages and stay rooted far longer than consumers. The Legislative Wall: Why micro-market operators in secondary and tertiary zones are not safe from predatory city licensing laws and syntax adjustments. Association membership is mandatory to maintain a unified voice. A Call for Community Support: Host Thaddeus Campbell shares a critical GoFundMe initiative for longtime producer Erick Falck, whose family's home region north of Caracas was recently devastated by a major earthquake in Venezuela. Whether you are a corporate developer building automated Class-A assets or an independent owner protecting your local domain, Gary's grounded, non-commercial advice provides the perfect blueprint for the road ahead. Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: thaddeus@s3.partners LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/ Connect with Gary Edmonds Email: gary.edmonds@thestoragemanager.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-edmonds-70899a23b/ Donate for the Venezuela Earthquake victims here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-relief-for-venezuela-earthquake-victims Sponsor Shoutout: This episode is brought to you by Kiwi2 Steel. Wayne Woolsey and his partners bring over three decades of premier experience providing structural steel erection for self-storage and small-bay flex projects. Visit kiwisteel.com early in your land planning phase to lock down stable parameters and ensure your development's eventual commercial success.

    Before AI, Gary Edmonds helped define Remote Management in Storage decades before AI existed!

  2. Jul 8

    How Warehouse Anywhere Helps Storage Owners Scale NOI Effortlessly

    I sit down with Laura Holmes, CEO of Warehouse Anywhere, for an inside look at how enterprise businesses are completely rethinking supply chain logistics through the lens of self-storage. Laura shares the incredible story of navigating the massive Extra Space and Life Storage corporate merger, transforming a back-office utility into a standalone platform that handles the physical storage burdens for national sales forces. We dive into the massive operational inefficiencies inside corporate storage accounts, where companies routinely lose track of forgotten inventory and historical marketing items—and how centralized platforms provide instant visibility. Laura breaks down the exact differences between strict traditional warehousing and nimble, month-to-month storage models, why B2B commercial accounts are the ultimate tenant base for operators, and how she leverages agentic tech workflows to keep her business running on steroids. Key Takeaways From This Episode: The Operational Audit: How digging into corporate expense reports often reveals that field reps are storing old household furniture alongside high-value company assets. The Flexibility Factor: Why avoiding restrictive long-term leases enables enterprise firms to scale up or down instantly in response to seasonal product launches. Streamlining the Network: Eliminating the administrative nightmare of managing hundreds of separate property managers across a fragmented 70,000-location US map. A New Era of Data: Shifting past rigid, pre-built reports to utilize conversational data environments that answer complex regional inventory questions instantly. The Global Roadmap: Laura outlines her future milestones, including expanding footprints into Canada and tracking emerging macro storage associations across Europe and Asia. Whether you are a self-storage operator looking to capture premium commercial tenants or a real estate professional tracking the massive convergence of tech and industrial flex space, Laura's sharp execution strategies and building milestones are essential listening. Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: thaddeus@s3.partners LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/ Connect with Laura Holmes (Warehouse Anywhere) Email: lholmes@warehouseanywhere.com LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauratholmes/ Sponsor Shoutout: This episode is brought to you by Kiwi Steel. Wayne Woolsey and his premier team bring over 30 years of field-tested experience providing structural steel solutions for self-storage and small-bay flex developments. Visit kiwisteel.com early in your planning timeline to leverage three decades of crew expertise, lock in structural parameters, and prevent costly design modifications down the road.

    How Warehouse Anywhere Helps Storage Owners Scale NOI Effortlessly

  3. Jul 1

    Matt McDermott spent over a decade making money for some of Wall Streets biggest companies. Now he protects income for real estate investors.

    I sit down with Matt McDermott, CPA, the owner of South Jersey Tax Services and my personal accountant, for a masterclass in strategic tax planning, asset protection, and wealth preservation. Matt spent the early part of his career climbing the corporate ladder of the world's most recognizable financial institutions, including Deloitte, Merrill Lynch, and BlackRock, before pivoting to run his own highly successful advisory firm. In this episode, we explore how Matt scaled his business to over 1,200 clients by treating accounting as a process and efficiency problem rather than a sales problem. Matt breaks down his core wealth strategies, explaining why business owners must stop intentionally under-reporting revenue to avoid short-term tax bills, as it fundamentally cripples their long-term valuation and bank financing power. We dive deeply into high-yield real estate mechanisms, including cost segregation studies, 1031 exchanges, and how to utilize the IRS "Real Estate Professional" status to completely offset a spouse's heavy W-2 tax burden. Key Takeaways From This Episode: The Big Box Forensic Play: Matt recounts his time as a 22-year-old auditor uncovering a billion-dollar sale-leaseback corporate accounting failure that shocked the financial markets. The Ultimate Valuation Pitch: Why smart cash flow reporting and tax books must be structured cleanly to protect your eventual business exit strategy. The Non-Cash Friend: How real estate developers and operators can maximize depreciation by shifting from standard 39-year timelines down to 5- or 7-year buckets via engineering cost segregation. The W-2 Offset: How a married couple can convert passive real estate investments into an active participation designation to legally wipe out corporate tax exposure. The Limits of Agentic AI: Why open-source data risks keep AI restricted from executing direct tax resolutions, and how operators can still deploy machine learning to clear out their communication inboxes and capture sales leads. IRS Tealeaves for 2026: A look inside the current automated environment of the IRS, why "false positive" compliance letters are spiking, and how to handle sudden auditor turnover. Whether you are a real estate merchant developer, a small-bay flex operator, or an ambitious entrepreneur trying to scale your company past its current labor blocks, Matt's institutional clarity and real-world tax playbooks are mandatory listening for your 2026 financial roadmap. Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: thaddeus@s3.partners LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/ Connect with Matt McDermott Email:mattmc@southjerseytax.com Website: https://www.southjerseytaxservices.com This Episode was brought to you by: https://www.kiwisteel.com/

    Matt McDermott spent over a decade making money for some of Wall Streets biggest companies. Now he protects income for real estate investors.

  4. Jun 22

    Is Storage Harder Than Brain Surgery? Dr. Richard Dalyai Shares the Reality

    I sit down with Dr. Richard Dalyai, a vascular neurosurgeon and the co-founder of Self Storage Brothers, for a masterclass in operational discipline, data tracking, and intentional family leadership . Richard brings an incredibly precise, clinical lens to real estate . After spending his twenties working 100-hour weeks during an elite residency at Thomas Jefferson University, he realized that despite his love for saving stroke patients, he wanted true asset ownership outside of massive hospital bureaucracies . Since 2020, he has partnered with his wife and mother to build a powerhouse regional brand spanning 10 locations from Raleigh East to Greenville, North Carolina. We explore why he rejects standard third-party management, how he uses local southern accents as a competitive barrier against Wall Street REITs, and the exact steps he took to build a proprietary data warehouse using Google Cloud, BigQuery, and Claude AI to audit his business daily . Key Takeaways From This Episode: The Autonomy Asset: Why doctors and high-earning professionals are turning to storage for a sense of true business ownership . Local Operations Over Everything: How deep localized knowledge of your own backyard can outperform multi-billion-dollar institutional capital . Lean AI Workflows: Why you don't need dozens of corporate employees if you use structured machine learning to review daily communication metrics . The Long-Term Hold: Staying insulated from five-year debt balloons by focusing on sustainable, cash-flowing regional assets . Stewardship & Legacy: Incorporating young children into field audits and lock checks to pass down entrepreneurial instincts early . Whether you are a busy medical professional looking to diversify your wealth or an independent operator searching for a technical edge in 2026, Richard's mix of high-stakes surgical focus and grit is a must-listen . Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: thaddeus@s3.partners LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/ This Episode was brought to you by: https://www.kiwisteel.com/

    Is Storage Harder Than Brain Surgery? Dr. Richard Dalyai Shares the Reality

  5. Jun 17

    Why Will Skillman Went All-In on Midwest Small Bay Flex (And Won)

    I sit down with Will Skillman, Founder and CEO of Trowbridge Development, for an unfiltered masterclass in small-bay industrial flex operations and raw entrepreneurial discipline . Will has flipped 100 homes, managed dozens of apartment buildings, and rolled up massive mobile home portfolios across the Midwest before targeting the highly fragmented small-bay asset class . We unpack the exact economic indicators driving the small-bay boom in 2026, where sub-5% vacancies meet a massive gap between acquisition costs and soaring replacement costs . Will explains why he chose to pull back the reins on 15 months of development planning to protect his investors' capital, how he structures deals using seller notes to bridge valuation gaps, and why maintaining total equity control trumps chasing institutional fee-play models every single time . Key Takeaways from this Episode: The Intelligence of Capital Discipline: Why walking away from unfeasible projects is the ultimate sign of investment maturity . The NNN Myth: Why treating small trades, HVAC companies, and logistics entrepreneurs with a Modified Gross structure creates a better customer experience . Municipal Partnerships: How to actively work with local cities to secure TIF benefits that bridge your 10-year P&L gaps . Workflow Automation Over Autonomy: How to integrate AI layers into your underwriting and deal discovery without losing the mandatory human touch . Building the Balance Sheet: Why Will prefers retaining the lion's share of equity and risk rather than living and dying by transaction syndication fees . Whether you are a seasoned operator seeking local joint-venture opportunities or an entrepreneur ready to break out of the corporate 9-to-5 loop, Will's blunt, data-backed insights provide the ultimate roadmap for navigating real estate cycles . Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: thaddeus@s3.partners LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/ Connect with Will Skillman (Trowbridge Development) Email: will@trowbridgedevelopment.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willskillman/ This Episode was brought to you by:  https://www.kiwisteel.com/

    Why Will Skillman Went All-In on Midwest Small Bay Flex (And Won)

  6. Jun 10

    Inside the Deals That Changed Self-Storage Forever with Zack Dickens

    I sit down with Zach Dickens, the Chief Investment Officer at Extra Space Storage, for a masterclass in institutional real estate, macroeconomics, and programmatic growth . Zach has spent over two decades directing the investment strategies for one of the most successful public platforms in modern real estate history . We step through the defining eras of the self-storage asset class. Zach shares behind-the-scenes insights into the 2005 Storage USA transaction, explaining how a tiny, newly public platform structured a complex joint venture with Prudential to swallow an entity three times its size . We trace the survival mechanisms Extra Space deployed during the 2008 banking collapse, the integration mechanics behind their 2023 Life Storage merger, and his real-time perspective on the massive consolidation occurring across the sector in 2026 . Key Takeaways From This Episode: The Value of Scale: Why self-storage has transformed from simple real estate landholds into an elite business of operational and technological scale . The Private-Public Disconnect: Zach explains why public REITs have been historically oversold and undervalued compared to underlying private asset cap rates. Recession-Resistant Fundamentals: Why the affordability and downsizing drivers of storage keep cash flows durable during macroeconomic downturns . Data Transparency via Management: How being the nation's largest third-party manager feeds a proprietary acquisition pipeline with perfect financial visibility. Steel Sharpening Steel: Why cooperation within major industry trade associations preserves a greater good for both operators and consumers . Whether you are a private merchant developer seeking a bridge loan to stabilization or an investor tracking Wall Street's current real estate signals, Zach's deep analytical clarity and boundless energy provide the exact playbook you need for the road ahead . Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: thaddeus@s3.partners LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/ Connect with Zach Dickens: Email: zdickens@extraspace.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-dickens-9839295/ This Episode was brought to you by: https://www.kiwisteel.com/

    Inside the Deals That Changed Self-Storage Forever with Zack Dickens

  7. Jun 3

    There's no secret to Andrew Dunn's success in Commercial Real Estate! He just never stops showing up.

    I sit down with Andrew Dunn, Co-Founder and Principal at VAC Development, affectionately known in the market as the Value Add Cowboys . Andrew is operating at an incredibly elite level in the middle-market commercial space across Las Vegas, Reno, and Phoenix, and he brings a masterclass in market awareness and execution to the microphone today . We dive into Andrew's transition from executing 75 intense residential turnarounds to commanding massive commercial assets. He pulls back the curtain on how his team successfully completed a 110,000-square-foot office-to-industrial conversion, generating an incredible exit . We also discuss why he prefers the granularity of unrated small business tenants over credit deals, how to successfully manage investor trust, and how pushing your physical limits in endurance sports prepares you to handle high-stakes commercial risk . Key Takeaways From This Episode: The Operating Arbitrage: Why treating your role as a general partner like an "information dealer" allows you to mitigate risks that scare away institutional cash . Granular Protection: How relying on a diversified base of essential, blue-collar logistics and fulfillment entrepreneurs keeps your cash flow completely AI-resistant . Creative Debt Structures: A raw look at borrowing at an 80% LTC debt fund structure at 11% interest to fully back your conviction when JV partners hesitate . Adapting Under Pressure: Why surviving a real estate cycle means abandoning "in-a-box" thinking, managing the bid-ask spread, and knowing when to "GTFO" before a market shifts . The Cowboy Creed: How Andrew and his partner skipped generic corporate branding to build a company that honors their scrappy, competitive, and agricultural roots . Whether you are looking to scale your own syndication model, break into the light manufacturing vertical, or simply build the work ethic required to win, Andrew's unfiltered, high-energy advice is mandatory listening. Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: thaddeus@s3.partners LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/ Connect with Andrew Dunn (VAC Development) Email: andrew@vacdevelopment.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmdunn41 This Episode was brought to you by: https://www.kiwisteel.com/

    There's no secret to Andrew Dunn's success in Commercial Real Estate! He just never stops showing up.

  8. May 27

    The Future of Self Storage Is SPEED, Not Price

    I sit down with Maggie Bode, Head of Enterprise Sales at Uniti AI, for a masterclass in operational efficiency and automation. Fresh off her panel at the Northeast Storage Expo, Maggie explains why deploying technology in diverse storage portfolios isn't one-size-fits-all. She shares her transition from customer success in luxury multifamily high-rises in NYC to tech solutions in the storage sector. We discuss the math behind AI voice containment, highlighting how operators can automatically handle 80% of routine calls, allowing sales teams to focus on high-value contracts. We also explore the shifts in consumer demographics, the cost of phone trees, and how her classical dance background informs her leadership in corporate real estate. Key Takeaways From This Episode: Digital Expectations: Why the under-25 renter segment will actively avoid your business if they are forced to pick up a phone or interact with a human counter agent. The Containment Strategy: How to seamlessly escalate the 20% of highly nuanced, sensitive customer calls to live agents while letting AI wipe out the routine background noise. Eliminating Friction: How modern conversational AI instantly recognizes returning customers by name and phone number to bypass manual lookups entirely. The Cost of Missed Windows: Why a manager stepping away to execute a lock check or sweep a unit can quietly cost you thousands of dollars in lost lifetime renter value. The "Humble Rebel" of YLG: A look at Maggie's dedication to building out the SSA Young Leaders Group to empower the next generation of real estate pioneers . Pop Culture Decompression: Why "ESPN is the Bravo for men" and why tracking reality TV workflows takes a surprising amount of emotional intelligence. Whether you are an institutional operator looking to scale seamlessly or an independent owner wanting to operate like a multi-thousand-door powerhouse, Maggie's sharp insights and infectious energy will change how you view your front office. Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners):
 Email: thaddeus@s3.partners
 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/
  Connect with Maggie Bode (Uniti AI)
 Email:
maggie@getuniti.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggiebode/ This Episode was brought to you by:
 https://www.kiwisteel.com/

    The Future of Self Storage Is SPEED, Not Price
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Self-storage isn't just square footage — it's a booming industry powered by smart operators, bold investors, sharp brokers, and everyday people making things happen. Hosted by Thaddeus Campbell, Stories Behind the Door pulls back the curtain on the real players behind the deals, developments, and day-to-day grind. Every week, we sit down with the people who are shaping the future of storage and flex space — one story at a time. If you're in the business or thinking about getting in, this is your front-row seat.

Information

  • Creator
    Thaddeus Campbell
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    Stories Behind the Door

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