Stories Behind the Door

A frustrating rental experience with three storage units during an art-leasing venture showed Matt Gengfer that self-storage property management software was ripe for disruption . Today on Stories Behind the Door, I sit down with Matt Gengfer, Co-Founder and CEO of Cubby, to explore how relentless customer focus helped them build one of the industry's modern software pillars. Matt details how he and his co-founder started Cubby on January 1, 2022, spending their early months working the front desk, shoveling snow, and doing lock checks alongside on-site managers to understand operational pain points firsthand . We discuss scaling from a single 65-unit facility in Florida to securing a $63M investment round led by Goldman Sachs, and why Matt instills a Nick Saban-inspired ethos where losing a customer is completely unacceptable . Episode Highlights: The First-Principles Apprenticeship: Why Matt worked on-site at facilities before writing core platform code . The Bed-Stuy Crucible: Grinding 14-hour days in a Brooklyn basement to engineer a true cloud-native system of record . Strategic Growth: Starting with small multi-unit operators to dial in the tech stack before taking on enterprise scale . Raising $63M from Position of Strength: How building a clean operational engine allowed Cubby to dictate terms with institutional capital . The "Benevolent" Partner: Delivering proactive, high-touch customer success that treats operators as true long-term partners . Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners):
 Email: [email protected]
  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/  Connect with Matt Engfer
 Email:
 [email protected] LinkedIn:
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewengfer/ Sponsor Shoutout: Brought to you by Kiwi 2 Construction . Wayne Woolsey and his crews bring 30+ years of structural steel experience to self-storage and small bay flex developments . Visit kiwisteel.com early in planning to put three decades of steel expertise behind your build . Special thanks, as always, to Barry Sherman and the team at S3 Partners !

I sit down with Alex Quezada, Founder and CEO of Vault Ventures, to discuss creative deal acquisition, portfolio automation, and scaling commercial real estate . After 15 years in residential real estate, Alex automated his wholesaling company and transitioned full-time to long-term commercial assets . In this episode, Alex explains how he acquired multiple large facilities using creative seller financing and why securing long debt terms without balloon maturities protects operators far better than chasing short-term low rates . We also explore the operational advantages of pairing self-storage with small bay industrial flex, how tracking Return on Equity (ROE) dictates when to sell versus hold, and the vital business lesson of planning a partnership exit before signing an operating agreement . Episode Highlights: Creative Debt Structuring: Why fixed seller-financed debt over 10–20 years outperforms short-term bank financing facing balloon debt maturities . Systemizing to Scale: How Alex handed daily operations to his team so he could focus purely on commercial acquisitions . The Hybrid Flex Model: Why combining storage with small bay industrial units stabilizes occupancy and cuts tenant turnover . Return on Equity Discipline: Auditing equity yields to systematically exit lower-performing assets and redeploy capital into larger facilities . Sustainable Partnerships: Structuring operating agreements with clear buyout mechanisms to maintain control and protect capital . Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/ Connect with Alex Quezada (Vault Ventures) Email:[email protected] Website: https://vaultventures.net/ Sponsor Shoutout: Brought to you by Kiwi 2 Construction . Wayne Woolsey and his crews bring 30+ years of structural steel experience to self-storage and small bay flex developments . Visit kiwisteel.com early in your planning to put three decades of steel expertise behind your build . As always, special thanks to Barry Sherman and the team at S3 Partners !

Unmanned, remote self-storage is expanding rapidly, but remote technology stops working the second a physical problem hits the property . In this episode of Stories Behind the Door, I sit down with Chris Terrigno, the 22-year-old Co-Founder of Boots and Mortar, to discuss how his company is solving the maintenance problem for modern operators . Chris details how Boots and Mortar bridges the gap between digital property management and physical facilities by deploying background-checked, W2 technicians on recurring schedules for overlocks, unit turns, and repairs . We explore how their technician app and client portal give remote owners complete photographic visibility, how Chris dialed thousands of facility managers to hone their service offering, and how he applies John Wooden's classic discipline to build a high-accountability business while finishing his degree at Colorado State . Episode Highlights: The Missing Link in Remote Ops: Why unmanned facilities struggle with local handymen and how centralized maintenance protects NOI . White-Glove Field Execution: Recruiting disciplined professionals—such as local firefighters—for recurring site visits . Total Transparency: Replacing guesswork with technician apps and client portals providing live photographic proof of work . Cold-Calling as Market Research: How asking operators for advice instead of pitching built a nationwide pipeline . Founder Focus at 22: Balancing CSU classes, dialing 100+ owners a day, and building a scalable service model . Connect with Chris: Visit bootsandmortar.com or reach out directly at [email protected] . Sponsor Shoutout: Brought to you by Kiwi 2 Construction . Wayne Woolsey and his crews bring 30+ years of structural steel experience to self-storage and small bay flex developments . Head to kiwisteel.com early in your planning to put three decades of steel expertise behind your next build ! As always, special thanks to Barry Sherman and the team at S3 Partners .

A career pivot driven by family in 2000 became a 25-year journey at the forefront of commercial self-storage . I sit down with Darren Kelly, Co-Founder and President of Right Move Storage, for an inside look at operational grit, distressed turnarounds, and agile PropTech execution . Darren takes us inside Public Storage during the Shurgard acquisition and the early rollout of centralized revenue management . He shares the brutal trial by fire after 2008, when he helped restructure a 70-facility portfolio facing 40 maturing loans, saving 69 of them and cementing his rule that every operational penny matters . We also break down how Darren stays ahead of institutional REITs today by splitting Right Move into Premier and Remote platforms, becoming the first to scale Storage Defender across his stores, and turning unmanned facilities into full e-commerce retail engines . Episode Highlights: From Hospitality to Storage: Why the "lost room night" concept made self-storage the ultimate low-headcount operating model . The Shurgard Integration: Operational lessons from integrating rival cultures inside Public Storage . The Distressed Portfolio Rescue: Navigating angry syndication investors and frozen bank debt post-GFC . The Multiplier Math: Why a lost penny isn't just a cent when cap rates translate $1 of NOI into $16 to $20 in property value . Bifurcating the Operating Model: Deploying Right Move Premier vs. Right Move Remote to combat rate compression and rising OpEx . Cutting Through Chaos: Applying the Eisenhower Matrix and Ross Perot's three-task discipline to lead high-growth companies . Connect with Darren: Visit rightmovestorage.com . Sponsor Shoutout: Brought to you by Kiwi 2 Construction . Wayne Woolsey and his crews bring 30+ years of structural steel experience to ground-up self-storage and small bay industrial flex builds . Visit kiwisteel.com early in planning to put three decades of steel experience behind your project .

When Desmond Fortenberry graduated from Florida State in May 2020, commercial real estate was in uncharted territory. Instead of waiting on the sidelines, he hit the road, dug through county GIS property maps, drove hours across the Panhandle to share coffee with owners, and built a brokerage career on old-school relationships. Now Senior Vice President at Oakside, Dez joins me on Stories Behind the Door for a fast-paced look at the ground-level realities of self-storage transactions. We break down how he transitioned from notepads and parcel maps to institutional brokerage under John Lindsey, why finding operational fat, like shaving $28,000 off a tax bill, creates real equity, and what operators must prepare for as commercial debt matures toward 2027. Episode Highlights: The Old-School Blueprint: Why face-to-face road trips beat CRM shortcuts when building real owner trust. The Power of Mentorship: What Dez learned about institutional deal-making after teaming up with John Lindsey. Creating Equity Through NOI: How cutting $28K in property taxes added over $460,000 in capitalized asset value. The Competitor's Mindset: Why treating peer brokers like tennis rivals makes everyone in the asset class better. The 2027 Horizon: Navigating loan maturities, balloon payments, and distress scenarios in today's debt climate. Whether you are actively trading assets or looking to protect cash flow against debt maturities, Dez's practical take delivers a clear view of modern storage brokerage. Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners): Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/ Connect with Dezmond Fortenberry Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dezmon-f-8568038a/ Sponsor Shoutout: Sponsored by Kiwi 2 Construction. Wayne Woolsey and his team bring 30+ years of premier structural steel expertise to ground-up self-storage and small bay industrial flex builds. Head to kiwisteel.com during your planning phase to put their experience to work on your next development. Special thanks, as always, to Barry Sherman and the team at S3 Partners!