I sit down with Albert Kim, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of StoragePilot.ai, for an in-depth conversation on artificial intelligence, operational automation, and software development in self-storage.

Albert built his first startup, Greenline POS, into an online IT retailing and compliance engine serving over 600 businesses across Canada before exiting in 2022. After entering commercial real estate, Albert teamed up with ex-Public Storage VP Kyle Lawrence and industry veteran John Lindsay to build specialized AI agent infrastructure designed specifically for storage facilities.

In this episode, Albert breaks down the mechanics behind StoragePilot's dual-agent ecosystem: the external-facing AI Property Manager (handling inbound calls, reservations, gate codes, and payments) and the internal AI District Manager (guiding facility teams through company SOPs and data). We discuss why over 50,000 independent and mid-market facilities must adopt automated communication to defend margins against REIT systems like Public Storage's "Ellie," how AI is transforming engineering workflows, and how welcoming a newborn daughter shapes his long-term view of technology.

• The Transition from Retail IT to CRE: How scaling a regulatory compliance platform to 600+ locations prepared Albert to build enterprise systems for storage.

• Two Fronts of Storage AI: The difference between customer-facing property management agents and internal district management support agents.

• Closing the Missed-Call Bleed: Why automated 24/7 call and chat response protects high-cost marketing leads from dropping into voicemail.

• The 50,000-Facility Opportunity: Why mid-market and single-facility operators have the most to gain from AI tools that eliminate staffing bottlenecks.

• The Entrepreneurial Metric: Why delivering clear, repeatable ROI that makes a client say "let's do business again" remains the ultimate founder benchmark.

Whether you are an operator looking to eliminate operational friction or an investor evaluating PropTech adoption in 2026, Albert's insights deliver a clear roadmap for the future of automated facility management.

Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/

Connect with Albert Kim (StoragePilot.ai) Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albert-kim-84a6169b/

Sponsor Shoutout: This episode is brought to you by Kiwi Steel. Wayne Woolsey and his team bring over 30 years of premier experience erecting structural steel for self-storage and small-bay flex developments. Visit kiwisteel.com early in your design phase to tap into three decades of construction expertise on your next ground-up build.

I sit down with Armand Aghadjanians, Director of Acquisitions at Store Here Self Storage, for his first-ever podcast appearance. Known across LinkedIn for his deep-dive research and data transparency, Armand brings an unfiltered, analytical perspective to modern real estate acquisitions.

Armand shares his journey from an art history background and a role in commercial brokerage at Colliers to joining a seasoned acquisition team with decades of combined experience. We discuss the mechanics of underwriting discipline, exploring why Store Here cut their acquisition volume to a fifth of their historical average during the peak buying craze rather than stretching projections to win deals. Armand outlines his macro framework for tracking capital cycles, explains why he openly shares his investment thesis online, and breaks down the core due diligence checkpoints outlined in his new book, Self Storage Due Diligence: A Checklist for Investors.

• Underwriting with Restraint: The courage required to push back capital and decline deals when market pricing disconnects from realistic operational forecasts.

• Macro Cycle Awareness: Why long-term investment success comes from waiting for clear opportunity windows rather than chasing every market run.

• The Power of Open Playbooks: How providing transparent education elevates market standards and prevents destructive pricing mistakes across the industry.

• Escrow Execution: The critical 75-item checklist buyers need to audit operational records, vendor contracts, and physical assets during due diligence.

• Family-Driven Purpose: How 4 AM mornings and a dedicated family life fuel a relentless commitment to professional excellence.

Whether you are evaluating your first storage acquisition or managing an active investment pipeline, Armand's research-heavy frameworks offer an indispensable guide for navigating today's market.

Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/

Connect with Armand Aghadjanians (Store Here Self Storage) Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aghadjanians/ Get Armand's book here: https://a.co/d/0cSWxwOI

Sponsor Shoutout: This episode is brought to you by Kiwi Steel. Wayne Woolsey and his team bring over 30 years of premier experience erecting structural steel for self-storage and small-bay flex developments. Visit kiwisteel.com early in your design phase to tap into three decades of construction expertise on your next ground-up build.

I sit down with Hamza Ali, Founder and CEO of Hamza Invests and creator of the Flex Space Network, for an unfiltered deep dive into the blueprint of modern small-bay industrial development.

Hamza immigrated to the United States from Dubai at 28, initially planning to build a 6,000-square-foot motorsports garage to meet visa requirements. When a buyer purchased the shell before completion for five years' worth of projected business profits, Hamza realized small bay flex was the ultimate commercial asset class.

In this episode, Hamza breaks down the exact layout math derived from over 600 developers in his network, explaining why the 1,650–1,750-square-foot bay size hits the absolute sweet spot for maximizing rental rates and tenant retention. We examine his ultra-lean management model, running one million square feet with a single remote property manager, and discuss why institutional private equity has provided debt and balance sheets but has yet to fully unlock direct equity for flex sponsors. Hamza also explains why the availability of U.S. debt structures makes America the premier place to build lasting wealth compared to international cash hubs like Dubai.

• The Accidental Flex Pioneer: How an immigrant motorsports business plan transformed into a premier flex development platform.

• Layout Optimization: Why 1,000 sq ft units bring high tenant turnover and 2,000 sq ft units trigger price sensitivity, making 1,650–1,750 sq ft the ideal footprint.

• Operational Efficiency: The systems required to manage a 1,000,000 sq ft portfolio remotely with one core implementer.

• Capital Markets Reality: Analyzing where private equity currently participates in flex space and the runway ahead once institutional equity checks unlock.

• The Specialized Tenant Base: How modern small bay units serve as essential, unshakeable incubation hubs for robotics, aerospace, and specialized manufacturing.

Whether you are transitioning out of multifamily or looking to break ground on your first small bay parcel, Hamza's data-driven frameworks provide an indispensable guide for 2026 and beyond.

Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/

Connect with Hamza Ali (Hamza Invests): Email: [email protected] Get your Tickets for the Flex Space Connect: https://flexspaceconnect.com/ This Episode was brought to you by: https://www.kiwisteel.com/

Sponsor Shoutout: This episode is brought to you by Kiwi2 Steel. Wayne Woolsey and his team bring over 30 years of premier experience in erecting structural steel for self-storage and small-bay flex developments. Visit kiwisteel.com early in your design phase to tap into three decades of field expertise on your next ground-up build.

I sit down with Jefferson and Velvet Warner, founders of Velvet Touch Executive Storage, for a deep dive into the realities of developing high-end boat and RV storage. Velvet and Jefferson spent years flipping residential homes before a single phone call seeking storage for their own fifth-wheel revealed a massive supply-demand imbalance in the Phoenix market.

In this episode, the Warners share the raw, behind-the-scenes story of taking an eight-figure Class A development from raw dirt to final construction drawings. We explore how they pivoted their design from open canopies to fully enclosed structures, how they engineered a fix for 1,200 feet of underground land subsidence, and how they stayed focused on building generational wealth while Jefferson successfully fought Stage 4 prostate cancer.

• The Spark: Discovering a 400-person waiting list for local storage spaces and calculating the potential NOI on the drive home.

• Engineering Pivot: Turning 1,200 feet of land fissures into an opportunity to build fully enclosed units that command double the rental rates.

• Personal Resilience: Choosing to press forward with a commercial build amidst a major cancer diagnosis.

• Generational Impact: Using real estate development to break middle-class paradigms and teach their eight grandchildren about passive income.

• Team Alignment: The necessity of hiring an owner's rep and specialized engineers to navigate complex municipal permitting.

Whether you are a residential investor looking to scale into commercial development or an operator interested in the boat and RV asset class, Jefferson and Velvet's story is a masterclass in mindset, partnership, and perseverance.

Sponsor Shoutout: This episode is brought to you by Kiwi Steel. Wayne Woolsey and his crew bring over three decades of field expertise to ground-up self-storage and flex projects. Head to kiwisteel.com early in your design phase to keep your build on schedule and under budget.

I sit down with Ryan Chapman, Co-Founder and CEO of Lumio, for a fascinating conversation on artificial intelligence, Silicon Valley engineering, and vertical problem-solving in commercial real estate. Ryan spent nearly a decade at Apple managing teams building machine learning infrastructure and Siri agent systems before launching Lumio alongside his childhood best friend since age two, Clay Jones.

In this episode, Ryan outlines why horizontal AI systems often struggle across broad domains and why Lumio chose to go hyper-deep into self-storage. He breaks down how voice agents convert routine phone inquiries, execute complex operational playbooks, and capture missed revenue without adding payroll. Ryan shares real-world data from their enterprise rollout with Rec Nation, explains why AI adoption is becoming as mandatory as having a website, and reflects on the regret-minimization mindset that empowered him to leave Apple to build something of his own.

• Constrained Domain Autonomy: How focusing exclusively on self-storage allows AI agents to handle complex facility playbooks seamlessly.

• Navigating Career Transitions: Ryan's decision-making process when leaving a decade-long tenure at Apple while starting a family.

• Enterprise Validation: How Rec Nation deployed Lumio's voice agents across ~70 locations to streamline customer support and sales.

• Combating OpEx Pressures: Why deploying AI agents provides small and mid-sized operators with the margin relief needed to offset rising property taxes and insurance costs.

• Lifelong Partnerships: The trust, shared history, and joint growth mindset required to build a company with your childhood best friend.

Whether you are an operator evaluating voice AI solutions or an entrepreneur navigating a major career leap, Ryan's insights offer a clear masterclass in modern technology execution.

Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/

Connect with Ryan Chapman (Lumio) Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanechapman/

Sponsor Shoutout: This episode is brought to you by Kiwi Steel. Wayne Woolsey and his team bring over 30 years of premier experience erecting structural steel for self-storage and small-bay flex developments. Visit kiwisteel.com during your ground-up planning phase to tap into three decades of field expertise. Special thanks also to our data partner, Noah Starr at Tracked IQ!

I sit down with Travis Morrow, CEO of Store Local and Tenant Inc., for a masterclass in self-storage operations, technology, and industry trends. Travis has spent more than two decades in the business, scaling from an intern at National Self Storage to leading nationwide co-ops and media platforms for independent owners.

In this episode, we address the macro shifts transforming self-storage in 2026. Travis explains why major REIT consolidations are a natural part of the industry's lifecycle, drawing clear parallels to the hotel and hospitality sector. He breaks down how cap rates are aligning more closely with multifamily as Wall Street cements its confidence in the asset class. We also explore how Store Local grew to over 530 member companies to help independent operators leverage collective buying power, why he acquired Modern Storage Messenger in 2023, and what to expect at MSM The Show in Atlanta this November.

• First & Foremost an Operator: Why Travis approaches every technology, co-op, or media venture with a focus on how it directly improves store-level P&Ls.

• The Lifecycle of Consolidation: Understanding why big portfolio roll-ups provide the ultimate exit liquidity for independent operators.

• Bridging the Tech Gap: How independent owners can combine resources through co-ops to deploy competitive systems without massive single-store budgets.

• Reinventing Storage Media: Transitioning a 40-year-old print legacy into an interactive digital magazine while keeping the independent operator's voice alive.

• East Coast Event Coverage: Why "MSM The Show" was built to serve an underrepresented Fall East Coast market with over 60 hours of curated content across data, development, investment, and operations.

Whether you operate a single facility or manage a multi-state portfolio, Travis's blend of operational grit and forward-looking vision offers valuable perspective for navigating today's market.

Event Info: Register for the November show at msmtheshow.com. Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/

Connect with Travis Marrow Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/storageoperator/

Sponsor Shoutout: This episode is brought to you by Kiwi II Steel. Wayne Woolsey and his team bring over 30 years of experience delivering structural steel solutions for self-storage and small bay flex developments. Visit kiwisteel.com early in your design phase to leverage three decades of construction expertise on your next ground-up project.

I sit down with Noah Woolsey from Kiwi2/Kiwi Steel for a deeply personal look at family legacy, structural engineering, and corporate transitions. Noah spent his entire youth surrounded by self-storage builders, eventually joining his father, Wayne Woolsey, to navigate one of the most respected steel operations in the commercial sector.

Noah outlines the operational realities of the July 2026 marketplace. We look closely at the macroeconomic factors that are causing developers to hold back projects until early 2027 as they wait out interest-rate shifts and steel-pricing timelines. Noah explains why Kiwi Steel embraces a proudly "old school" approach to estimation and business development—relying on manual calculations and deep human trust rather than delegating calculations to open-source AI. We also walk through the strategy behind the team's massive corporate merger with Janice International, explaining how a public acquisition can leave a legacy private brand completely untouched on a local execution level.

• The Entrepreneurial Buffer: Noah describes his father's masterful ability to work until midnight at the kitchen table without letting the emotional toll of business cross into his family life.

• The Regional Real Estate Divide: A strategic look at current development trends showing why the West Coast is holding steady while East Coast projects face major financing bottlenecks.

• The Small Bay Pivot: How a sluggish residential housing market is being offset by dense apartment construction, creating a massive secondary wave of demand for small bay flex, boat, and RV toy storage.

• Precision Value Engineering: How to protect your project parameters by using targeted zip-code calculations—beefing up roof purlins for Massachusetts snow loads or modifying structural frames for high-velocity Florida wind loads.

• The Truth of the Handoff: Why institutional buyers are willing to pay massive premiums for private platforms while keeping the original founders completely in charge of the day-to-day controls.

Whether you are a private merchant developer waiting for the right moment to break ground on a new asset or an independent operator analyzing the industrial flex market, Noah's unique mix of multi-generational wisdom and front-line data is essential listening. Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/

Connect with Noah Woolsey Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-woolsey-9499a1183/

This Episode was brought to you by: https://www.kiwisteel.com/

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.

• 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: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/

Connect with Gary Edmonds Email: [email protected]

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.

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.

• 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: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/

Connect with Laura Holmes (Warehouse Anywhere) Email: [email protected] 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.

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: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/

Connect with Matt McDermott Email:[email protected] Website: https://www.southjerseytaxservices.com

This Episode was brought to you by: https://www.kiwisteel.com/