Welcome back to Self Storage Lab, the podcast where we deconstruct how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape—and what it means for the future of the industry.

This episode’s guest is Anastasia Malagisi, Vice President of Marketing at Safeguard Self Storage. With roots in the industry going back decades, Anastasia brings a rare blend of institutional knowledge, operator empathy, and modern marketing rigor. From competing head-to-head with REITs to building trust-driven brands in dense urban markets, she offers a thoughtful, grounded perspective on what actually works in storage marketing today.

In this episode, we explore:

• The marketing “hill” Anastasia would die on—and why everything starts with the customer.

• How Safeguard balances data, intuition, and storytelling to drive real results.

• The evolution of value-based pricing and CRO testing in self storage.

• What smaller and mid-sized operators can do that big REITs can’t.

• Why transparency, trust, and human connection still matter more than budgets.

• How AI fits into marketing and operations without becoming a distraction.

• Leadership lessons from mentors, family, and years in the field.

If you’ve ever wrestled with competing against larger operators, making sense of endless marketing tools, or aligning brand with real customer experience, this episode is packed with both strategic insight and practical wisdom.

Frameworks & Philosophies
Customer-first marketing
Transparency and trust as brand foundations
Value-based pricing
CRO and continuous testing
Competition as a catalyst for improvement

Tools & Practices
CRO and A/B testing programs
Digital marketing agencies and partners
Dashboard-driven decision making
AI as an operational and marketing assist

Favorite Nuggets
“Marketing starts with knowing who you’re serving.”
“You won’t win every sale, but you should always be honest.”
“Data doesn’t replace intuition—it sharpens it.”
“Small operators can win by doing what big ones can’t.”

🔗 More from Anastasia & Safeguard
https://www.safeguardit.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasiamalagisi/

Welcome back to Self Storage Lab, the podcast where we deconstruct how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape and what it means for the future of the industry.

This episode features a special roundtable conversation with the leadership team at Access Self Storage, a Northeast-based operator approaching its 50th anniversary. Joining us are Andrew Rockoff (Marketing), Brian Russ (Third-Party Management), and Chris Feild (Operations), three long-tenured leaders who have helped shape Access’s reputation for hyper-local execution, people-first culture, and thoughtful adoption of technology.

In this episode, we explore how a regional operator competes and wins in REIT-heavy markets by leaning into relationships, local expertise, and disciplined systems thinking. The conversation spans marketing, operations, culture, and technology, with plenty of humor and hard-earned insight along the way.

If you’re a midsize operator wondering how to scale without losing your soul, this episode offers a candid look inside a business that’s been doing exactly that for decades.

In This Episode

• How Access Self Storage balances technology adoption with boots-on-the-ground service

• Why employee experience and retention improve when tech removes friction

• The case for hyper-local marketing in dense, competitive markets

• What most operators misunderstand about automation and unmanned facilities

• How third-party management can be a scalable growth lever

• Why integration and simplicity matter more than shiny new tools

• How Access evaluates ROI before rolling out new systems

• The internal dynamics between marketing, ops, and leadership

• Lessons from nearly 50 years of operating through industry shifts

• Pizza takes, radio DJ throwbacks, and some very honest hot takes

Key Themes

People First, Always
Access emphasizes ownership at the store level, long-term employee development, and trust as the foundation of the business. Managers are treated like operators, not order-takers.

Hyper-Local Wins
From knowing the best pizza place in town to tailoring ads by neighborhood, Access believes storage is a three-to-five mile business where local relevance beats national branding.

Technology as an Enabler, Not a Replacement
Automation and AI are embraced when they remove repetitive work and improve the customer experience, but never at the expense of human connection.

Culture Is Built on Purpose
With clearly defined fundamentals, open dialogue, and long-term careers, Access shows how intentional culture building creates durability and alignment.

• “Self storage isn’t one size fits all.”

• “Technology and people aren’t in conflict if you use tech to eliminate pain points.”

• “Hyper-local beats national every time in our markets.”

• “Unmanned facilities are overhyped.”

🔗 Learn more about Access Self Storage
https://www.accessselfstorage.com

🔗 Connect with the guests on LinkedIn
Andrew Rockoff
Brian Russ
Chris Feild

Welcome back to Self Storage Lab, the podcast where we deconstruct how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape and what it means for the future of the industry.

This episode’s guest is Susan Hovey, Director of Marketing at Strat Property Management, whose career path spans tech, wine, and now self storage. Susan is known for blending creativity with data, grounding modern marketing tactics in timeless fundamentals, and building brands that feel human in an industry often reduced to square footage. From fax blasts to AI-driven search, she’s seen every evolution, and brings a rare combination of storytelling, operational alignment, and pragmatic strategy to the table.

In this episode, we explore:
• How a background in theater, tech, and wine shaped Susan’s marketing philosophy
• Why marketing should be viewed as operational infrastructure, not a discretionary expense
• How AI search and zero-click experiences are reshaping visibility for operators
• The do’s and don’ts she wishes every owner understood—from Google habits to FAQs
• Why attribution is still the holy grail (and why most people chase it wrong)
• How brand authority and authenticity now matter more than ranking alone
• The future of storage marketing and the growing role of retention and community

If you’ve ever wondered how to elevate your brand, navigate a shifting search landscape, or align marketing with operations across dozens of properties, this episode offers a masterclass from one of the most thoughtful voices in the industry.

In this Episode

(00:00:00) Why marketing isn’t optional anymore
(00:01:03) From theater storytelling to fax blasts to AI
(00:04:23) Catching the “self storage bug”
(00:07:26) What wine, tech, and storage have in common
(00:09:52) Serving customers across personas, preferences, and channels
(00:11:28) Google's chaos, AI overviews, and the new search reality
(00:14:55) The messy truth about attribution
(00:17:19) How AI is already impacting storage rentals
(00:21:39) Brand authority as the new SEO
(00:26:11) The first things to fix when taking over a facility
(00:30:00) Storytelling as the foundation of every great brand
(00:33:30) What operators get wrong about their audience
(00:37:17) Winning internal debates and making the case for marketing
(00:42:08) Marketing don’ts: Google searches, Q&A neglect, and chasing rankings
(00:48:00) The future of storage marketing: retention and brand-led strategies
(00:50:41) Rapid fire: rituals, routines, tools, and staying grounded

Frameworks & Philosophies
• Storytelling as strategic foundation
• Brand authority over pure keyword strategy
• Meeting customers exactly where they are
• The importance of community and belonging

Tools & Practices
• Google Business Profile essentials
• Schema markup and FAQs for AI-driven search
• Brand reputation platforms
• Personal rituals for clarity and grounded leadership

Favorite Nuggets
• “Marketing is not the only cost with a price tag. We just see it more clearly.”
• “Don’t Google yourself every morning.”
• “Self storage isn’t about belongings. It’s about helping people feel like they belong.”
• “Attribution is the holy grail and no one has it fully figured out.”

🔗 Connect with Susan:
LinkedIn: Susan Hovey

Strat Property Management

Welcome back to Self Storage Lab, the podcast where we deconstruct how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape—and what it means for the future of the industry.

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This episode’s guest is Noah Starr, founder and CEO of Tract IQ—a data intelligence platform giving operators, brokers, and investors visibility into over 70,000 self storage properties nationwide. Before launching Tract IQ, Noah built a portfolio of 12 self storage facilities and underwrote billions in real estate transactions. That operator-first perspective now powers one of the most talked-about data platforms in self storage.

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In this episode, we explore:

• Noah’s leap from Wall Street to storage entrepreneur (and why it all happened in the same week he got engaged and bought a house).
• The data gap that led to Tract IQ—and why smaller operators were flying blind for too long.
• How independent operators can use data transparency to compete with REITs.
• The balance between scaling fast and staying focused on quality.
• What “AI hype” gets wrong about real innovation in real estate tech.
• Why empathy, trust, and relationships will always be the real moat—even in a data-rich future.

If you’ve ever wondered how better data could transform the way you evaluate deals, forecast performance, and build trust with investors, this episode is a must-listen.

(00:02:32) From corporate burnout to closing on his first storage deal.
(00:05:22) Building a 12-facility portfolio—and discovering the data problem firsthand.
(00:06:05) The story behind acquiring Tract IQ and shifting from investor to tech founder.
(00:08:20) What scaling fast actually looks like (and what not to do).
(00:10:00) Why real estate data has been broken—and how Tract IQ is fixing it.
(00:14:00) How smaller operators can differentiate from REITs through transparency and partnership.
(00:16:35) Real customer stories: how Tract IQ helps users find—or avoid—their next deal.
(00:18:50) The cost of a bad deal (and why saying “no” can be your best ROI).
(00:20:00) What headlines get wrong about street rates, rents, and market health.
(00:24:00) Why there’s no single “health metric” for self storage—and what to track instead.
(00:25:47) The cost of data is dropping—and why that’s good for operators.
(00:27:00) AI, data quality, and why Noah refuses to chase the hype.
(00:39:02) How Tract IQ builds culture around transparency and empowerment.
(00:43:00) What will truly differentiate operators once everyone has access to the same data.
(00:45:00) Leadership lessons, favorite books, and the routines that keep Noah grounded.

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Frameworks & Philosophies

• Data transparency as a competitive advantage
• “There’s nothing more expensive than a bad deal.”
• Relationships as the ultimate moat in a data-rich world
• Technology should simplify—not distract—from operator focus

Tools & Practices

• Tract IQ’s custom prospecting engines
• Mentorship and conservative underwriting frameworks
• Journaling and “offline weekends” for clarity

Favorite Nuggets

• “Real estate data today is mostly peripheral metrics—we’re fixing that.”
• “The AI is only as good as the data.”
• “You can’t automate empathy, trust, or partnership.”
• “It’s a fun time to be a builder—but the unsexy problems still matter most.”

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🔗 More from Noah & Tract IQ:

‍
tractiq.com

‍
LinkedIn: Noah Starr

Welcome back to Self Storage Lab, the podcast where we deconstruct how operators are adapting to today’s technology driven landscape and what it means for the future of the industry.

‍

This episode’s guest is Jessie Lamb, VP of Self Storage at and one of the sharpest minds working at the intersection of people, operations, and technology. Jessie’s path into the industry is anything but traditional. From early HR work and sticky-floor movie theater gigs to seven years leading tech and operations at Strat Property Management, Jessie has built a career around solving real problems for real teams.

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Today, she brings that experience to the vendor side, helping nodaFi shape software that actually works in the physical world operators live in every day.

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In this episode, we explore:

• Jessie’s winding and accidental path into self storage
• Why tech adoption fails and how operators can get it right
• The role of intuition, data, and joy in decision making
• Change management, culture design, and helping teams navigate the “messy middle”
• What moving from operator to vendor has taught her about speed, innovation, and collaboration
• The future of physical operations technology and what nodaFi is building next

If you’ve ever tried to implement new tools, lead through change, or build systems your team will actually use, this conversation is going to hit home.

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(00:00:22) Why we need more tugboats and fewer cruise ships in tech adoption
(00:00:52) Jessie’s transition from HR to operations and where her people-first approach began
(00:03:18) Moving from rural Texas to San Francisco and finding energy in the tech world
(00:05:00) Why tech should augment people rather than replace them
(00:06:30) How consumer behavior created new expectations around access, hours, and responsiveness
(00:07:00) Jessie’s Craigslist origin story and the unlikely path into storage
(00:12:00) Seeing problems early and learning to speak up with clarity and confidence
(00:14:49) Growing up in many environments and how that shaped her balanced decision making
(00:17:13) Why intuition only works when you understand the inputs behind it
(00:20:00) How she thinks about KPIs, joy, and defining what “good work” feels like
(00:23:20) Change management, transparency, and the importance of naming the hard thing directly
(00:28:00) Taking the leap from Strat to consulting to nodaFi
(00:32:09) What surprised her most about joining the tech vendor side
(00:34:18) The pace of innovation and why fast feedback loops matter
(00:37:04) Working with customers who love to “break things” and why they drive the best product decisions
(00:39:56) Operators as cruise ships, vendors as speedboats, and the need to move together
(00:43:45) The importance of slow moments, celebration, and reducing change fatigue
(00:48:22) What nodaFi is building and why physical operations software is the next frontier
(00:51:16) How real operators walk properties and why that matters for great design
(00:52:00) Rapid fire: butcher paper walls, black coffee, and motorcycle adventures
(00:58:47) Where to find Jessie online and connect at industry events

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Frameworks & Philosophies
• Joy as a productivity multiplier
• Transparent change management
• Blending intuition with observable signals
• The physics of entropy and why systems drift without intentionality
• Kinesthetic problem solving

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Tools & Workflows
• Butcher-paper ideation
• QR-based asset tracking
• Property walkthrough workflows
• Vendor-operator co-design processes

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Favorite Nuggets
• “Show people the variables so they understand the decision.”
• Why the best ideas often come from the most critical users
• Adventure as a career compass
• Storage culture, tugboats, and the power of celebration

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LinkedIn: Connect with Jessie Lamb

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nodaFi: https://www.nodafi.com/

Welcome back to Self Storage Lab, the podcast where we deconstruct how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape—and what it means for the future of the industry.

This episode’s guest is Tommy Nguyen, co-founder and COO of StoragePug—a company that started with one family-owned facility and evolved into one of the most beloved tech brands in self storage. From his early days as a pre-med student to becoming a bootstrapped founder serving over 2,000 facilities nationwide, Tommy’s story is one of grit, humility, and relentless optimism.

In this episode, we explore:

• The journey from agency life to SaaS and how StoragePug found its niche.
• Lessons from bootstrapping—why taking the long road built a stronger culture.
• Balancing product discipline with customer-driven innovation.
• Competing (and thriving) in a crowded proptech ecosystem.
• How fatherhood reshaped Tommy’s leadership, time, and definition of success.

If you’ve ever wondered how to scale a business without losing your soul—or how to stay customer-obsessed while saying “no” to the wrong ideas—this conversation is a masterclass in building with heart.

(00:02:11) From Vietnam to Knoxville—Tommy’s immigrant story and the inflection points that shaped his path.
(00:09:01) Helping small operators compete head-to-head with REITs.
(00:13:16) Are we a product company or a service company? Defining the StoragePug identity.
(00:20:38) Bootstrapping in a world of venture-backed startups—and why it worked.
(00:28:34) What Tommy believed as a first-time founder (and doesn’t anymore).
(00:36:23) The three-part framework for deciding which features to build.
(00:41:06) When to kill a product—and why sunk costs don’t matter.
(00:47:21) Staying focused in a crowded landscape of new tech.
(00:54:56) Why small operators can’t afford to look “small” online anymore.
(00:57:47) AI as augmentation, not replacement—and what’s next for StoragePug.
(01:07:24) How becoming a dad changed Tommy’s priorities and leadership style.

Frameworks & Philosophies

• Bootstrapping over venture funding
• Value–difficulty–longevity product framework
• Founder restraint and long-term thinking
• Customer empathy as a superpower

Tools & Rituals

• Productboard for prioritization
• Slack as a company nerve center
• Gmail star system for sanity
• Time blocking and “out the door by 5:10” rule

Favorite Nuggets

• “Not every team member will row as hard—and that’s okay.”
• “If everyone in the industry copies each other, the typo repeats.”
• “Our software is used by our clients’ customers, not our clients.”
• “Turns out StoragePug didn’t need my 100% obsession to thrive.”

🔗 More from Tommy & StoragePug:
storagepug.com

Follow Tommy on LinkedIn

Summary

In this conversation, Faraz Hemani shares his journey from a successful career in big tech to becoming a self-storage entrepreneur. He discusses the challenges and motivations behind his leap into entrepreneurship, the importance of understanding risk, and how his upbringing shaped his views on money and investment. Faraz elaborates on his early ventures in real estate, the transition to self-storage, and the operational control that comes with it. He emphasizes the significance of data-driven decision-making, remote management strategies, and ensuring quality in operations. The discussion also touches on pacing growth, building a customer-centric culture, and the importance of personal well-being and inspiration in entrepreneurship.

Chapters

(00:00) The Leap from Tech to Self Storage

(02:53) Understanding Upbringing and Risk

(05:49) Early Ventures in Real Estate

(08:55) Transitioning to Self Storage

(11:57) Operational Control in Self Storage

(15:00) Navigating a Competitive Market

(17:38) Data-Driven Decision Making

(20:56) Remote Management Strategies

(23:31) Ensuring Quality Control

(26:30) Pacing Growth and Optimization

(30:33) Identifying Cracks in Growth Strategies

(32:45) Tech and Systems for New Operators

(35:37) Operational Focus and Team Dynamics

(37:40) Customer Experience and Team Training

(45:05) Balancing Work and Personal Life

(48:22) Sources of Inspiration and Learning

(51:06) Rapid Fire Questions and Insights

Sound bites

"I don't need Google anymore.""Data is going to be a huge edge.""YouTube is a university."

Keywords

self storage, entrepreneurship, risk management, real estate, operational control, data analysis, remote management, customer experience, growth strategies, personal development

Welcome back to Self Storage Lab, the podcast where we deconstruct how operators are adapting to today’s technology-driven landscape—and what it means for the future of the industry.

This episode’s guest is Jackson Stevens, co-founder and CEO of SpareBox Technologies. From classical musician to building one of the most operator-informed tech stacks in self-storage, Jackson’s path is as unconventional as it is compelling. Before SpareBox, Jackson played a pivotal role in building Red Dot’s internal FMS platform, scaling SpareBox Storage to over 7 million square feet, and launching tech that bridges the gap between traditional management and remote-first ops.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why self-storage tech looks simple, but isn’t.
• Jackson’s first principles approach to problem-solving in operations.
• The critical role of field experience in designing better tools.
• Lessons from music, CrossFit, Toyota, and call centers that shaped SpareBox’s roadmap.

If you’ve ever tried to build tech that actually works in the real world—or wondered what the future of remote operations looks like—this episode’s for you.

Also in our queue: Episode 25: The Modern FMS with Cubby CEO Matt Engfer

In this episode we discussed:

(00:00:20) From Baroque music to bold tech—Jackson’s winding path to storage.

(00:02:31) Pattern recognition, CrossFit, and life as a percussionist.

(00:06:50) Why most music school grads now work in tech.

(00:09:00) Creativity, culture, and leadership rituals inside a lean startup.

(00:14:30) Swivl x SpareBox: behind-the-scenes GTM playbook swaps.

(00:19:00) Building Redline—Red Dot’s internal FMS—and the hard lessons learned.

(00:24:45) Spending time with users: the lost art of field empathy.

(00:26:50) The surprising edge cases that complicate "simple" storage software.

(00:33:45) Auctions, automation, and designing for scale from day one.

(00:36:30) When solving your own pain points becomes a product strategy.

(00:39:15) Crossing the chasm: how SpareBox navigates adoption in a slow-moving industry.

(00:43:00) Consumer expectations vs. operator workflows—where we’re still catching up.

(00:46:11) TikTok tours and 5x5s: The REITs get social.

(00:49:45) Why most storage customers are first-timers—and what that changes.

(00:52:15) Elon Musk, agile retrospectives, and the pursuit of elegant ops.

(00:54:57) The case for remote-first ops—and what’s holding the market back.

(01:00:12) Why self-storage might lead the charge in virtual CRE playbooks.

(01:08:00) What Jackson would reinvent next—and the tech trend he thinks is overhyped.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Frameworks & Philosophies

• Agile & Scrum (Certified Product Owner)
• Toyota Production System
• First Principles Thinking
• Elon Musk’s operating rules
• Six Sigma & Gemba Walks

Internal Tools & Innovations

• Auction automation workflows
• Internal customer service manuals
• Remote onboarding through site visits
• Cross-departmental culture rituals

Favorite Nuggets

• “Show your work” as a collaboration philosophy
• Why your ops stack needs a melodica mindset—flexible, multi-purpose, and creative
• TikTok, Da Vinci locks, and the underrated power of a clean spreadsheet

🔗 More from Jackson & Team:
https://spareboxtech.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacksonstevensco/

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