Investment Matters: Ahead of the IOS Pack

November 12, 2026

Dan Haroun and Max Heiden discuss how they built a billion-dollar investment company in this conversation with host Paul Rosta.

Dan Haroun and Max Heiden first worked together between their junior and senior years at the University of Pennsylvania, when they were interns with SL Green. As they plugged away on spreadsheets until three in the morning, they’d joke around about starting a company of their own. For a few years they went their separate ways, and when they teamed up for good early in the Covid years, they decided to go into a highly fragmented but high-potential field that was only just coming into its own: industrial outdoor storage.

On the left, graphic of a chart superimposed on an image of a city skyline; on the right, two photos in circular frames. At the top right, photos of Catalyst Investment Partners co-founders Dan Haroun and Max Heiden in two circular frames. At the bottom right, photo of CPE's Paul Rosta in a circular frame. — Catalyst Investment Partners co-founders Dan Haroun and Max Heiden discuss industrial outdoor storage property investment with host Paul Rosta.

Less than a decade later, the company they formed, Catalyst Investment Partners, owns a portfolio comprising more than a hundred and fifty properties and valued at upward of a billion dollars. In our conversation, Haroun and Heiden talk about how they built their company from the ground up.

They share their insights about what makes an IOS asset attractive, and the markets and locations that offer the most potential.

And this entrepreneurial duo has some tips for newer professionals who aspire to success in real estate investment. Take a listen.

Episode highlights:

(1:33) How career convergence created Catalyst
(3:48) Formative interests: history and engineering
(7:16) Ready to launch the new company
(10:24) Discovering a young industrial niche
(13:22) Head start on IOS
(16:31) Focus on flexible assets
(19:50) Key markets for supply-demand dynamics
(21:45) The NIMBY-ism factor
(23:45) A little luck leads to an opportunity
(26:19) Why EVs are a sleeper source of demand
(29:48) Energized sites
(32:56) Setting a high bar for performance
(36:06) Policy, economy, finance: high-impact issues
(39:30) Skills for success, part 1: driving performance
(41:29) Skills for success, part 2: Tips for new professionals
(42:59) Executives off the clock: business history buffs, kitchen collaborations