The Art Of Staying Customer-Obsessed With Tommy Nguyen Self Storage Lab podcast

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The Art of Staying Customer-Obsessed with Tommy Nguyen

12d ago 1:13:53

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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

36 episodes

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