📘 Overview

In this episode, Derek sits down with self-storage powerhouse Jacob Vanderslice, who went from flipping houses in the mid-2000s to owning 41 self-storage facilities, 21,000 units, and 3.5M+ sq ft across 15 states.

Jacob breaks down: • How he survived multiple market cycles • Why self-storage is still strong despite economic uncertainty • How to raise capital the right way • What investors are doing wrong in today's market • Why transparency and discipline matter now more than ever

This is a straight-talking conversation packed with real-world lessons on scaling, managing risk, surviving downturns, and building a durable real-estate business.

⭐ Key Takeaways

• Cycles Create Wealth — Experienced investors make their biggest gains during market dislocations, not booms.

• Self-Storage Thrives on Mobility — Demand is tied to people moving. As movement returns, storage demand will rise.

• The Biggest Issue in 2024–2025: Debt — Rising rates, floating loans, and debt maturities are crushing poorly structured deals.

• Transparency Wins Investors — Deliver bad news faster than good news. Investors value honesty over perfection.

• Don't Force Deals — In tight markets, the winners are the ones who wait for great deals, not "make the numbers work."

• Operational Excellence Matters — In today's environment, execution and downside protection matter more than projections.

• Take Action — The worst thing a new investor can do is nothing. There's no perfect deal, only well-structured ones.

📌 Relevant Topics Discussed

• Evolution from flips → development → commercial → self-storage

• Market cycles, interest rates, and macro pressures

• Investor relations, reporting, capital raising challenges

• Overpaying, rookie mistakes, and "selling the dream" deals

• Operational headaches (break-ins, staff, overhead, U-Haul damages)

• Sustainable business building vs. chasing scale

• Finding off-market deals vs. broker relationships

• Structuring investor equity, preferred returns, and K-1 benefits

• Risk management and avoiding unsustainable models

• Why action beats perfection for new investors

🎧 Why You Should Listen

This episode is for you if:

• You're an investor who wants to survive — and thrive — in a shifting market.

• You want to understand the real economics behind self-storage.

• You're raising capital (or want to) and need to understand what LPs fear most right now.

• You've lost deals, money, momentum, or confidence — and want a roadmap forward.

• You want unfiltered truth from two investors who have been through the fire and came out stronger.

⏱️ Time Stamp

00:00 – Intro & Derek opens the show 01:10 – Jacob's background & early real estate lessons 03:30 – Transition into self-storage & scaling nationwide 05:45 – Market challenges in 2024–2025 07:20 – Macro trends, demand softening & economic uncertainty 10:50 – Why storage demand dropped 13:05 – Derek on "thinning of the herd" in real estate 15:40 – Investor mistakes & overpriced deals 18:20 – Raising capital in today's environment 19:40 – LP pain: equity wipes, capital calls, paused distributions 22:05 – Transparency & communicating with investors 26:15 – How Jacob sources deals (off-market + brokers) 28:20 – Ideal deal size & investment parameters 29:50 – How investor structures work (pref, equity, K-1s) 31:30 – Managing 427 investors & reporting systems 33:10 – Team size & operational setup 36:20 – Not forcing deals & staying disciplined 38:00 – Hard money lending parallels & risk cycles 39:20 – Reality of storage operations (not passive) 40:20 – Jacob's advice: take action, take smart risks 41:30 – Political uncertainty & market psychology 43:45 – Derek's final send-off

📄 Summary

Derek and guest Jacob Vanderslice dive deep into the mindset and mechanics behind building a durable real-estate business — specifically self-storage. Jacob shares how he went from fighting fires to building a multi-state storage empire by surviving market cycles, raising capital responsibly, and developing systems that scale.

They discuss the current market environment, rising rates, cracks in the economy, deal flow challenges, overpriced assets, and investor fear. Jacob explains why transparency and delivering bad news quickly is critical when managing investor capital, and why operational excellence matters more now than ever.

The conversation also covers sourcing off-market deals, building long-term investor trust, managing a large operations team, navigating overhead, and avoiding the pitfalls that wipe out rookies. The episode ends with timeless advice: take action, take smart risks, and don't wait for the perfect deal.

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