I recently partnered with Rabil Ventures, an operator-led investment holding company, to build a self-storage business / portfolio in the western U.S. We are on the hunt to acquire existing self-storage properties from small operators, unify them under a single brand, and modernize business operations / customer experience using best of breed software solutions.

Does anyone have experience working in this crossover between "traditional ETA" and real estate investing? As far as real estate goes, self-storage is the closest you can get to an operating business (and the only real estate you can acquire with SBA), but so far I've learned that the process / strategy to get deals done is quite different. Curious to hear any perspectives on this ETA / real estate crossover and advice for someone coming from the traditional ETA / M&A world. Thank you!