Building the Largest Privately Owned Self-Storage Company w/ Cris Burnam

Season 2, Episode 7: On this episode of the No Cap Podcast, hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik are joined by Cris Burnham, CEO of StorageMart, the world’s largest privately owned self-storage company. Cris shares the journey from his father's humble real estate beginnings to growing StorageMart into a multibillion-dollar empire, including the $3.2B acquisition of Manhattan Mini Storage. Cris dives into the industry's evolution, from strategic partnerships to adaptive reuse and technological advancements, and discusses the ongoing challenges facing the self-storage sector—like declining home sales and market saturation. CHAPTERS: 00:00 – Introduction 0:26 -- Cris Burnam's Journey with Storage Mart 06:08 – Hostile Takeover and Major Acquisition 13:36 – The $7.5 Billion Self-Storage Partnership 25:10 – Adaptive Reuse of Office Spaces for Self-Storage 33:18 – Iconic Billboard Strategy 37:34 – Declining Home Sales and Storage Auctions 45:03 – International Self-Storage Growth 54:50 – The Future of Self-Storage and Market Shifts We want to thank our sponsor Greysteel. For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCapCREDaily About No Cap Podcast Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate. About CRE Daily CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.