About Direct Equity Source
Institutional Expertise.
Operational Discipline.
A strategic alternative investment firm built on active management and real-world results. We provide direct access to high-utility assets across self-storage, small bay warehouse/flex space, and high yield private notes.
About Us
Our Story
Direct Equity Source was founded to capture the full potential of essential, durable real assets. We believe the greatest opportunity for growth exists where strong assets meet active, professional management — a philosophy that informs every project we underwrite.
Whether we are developing self-storage facilities, or scaling small bay warehouses/flex space portfolios, the goal remains the same: combine deep operating experience with a disciplined strategy for long-term growth.
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Accredited Investors
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Capital Deployed
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Years Combined Experience
Committed to Our Clients
Leadership Team
The principals of Direct Equity Source — bringing decades of capital markets, investor relations, and commercial real estate experience to every transaction.
Stephen Lawrence
CEO & President | Direct Equity Source
Stephen Lawrence is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Direct Equity Source — a commercial real estate capital advisory and investment firm specializing in debt and equity placement for commercial real estate projects nationwide.
With extensive experience in commercial real estate finance, investor relations, capital formation, and business development, Mr. Lawrence has built a reputation for connecting sponsors, developers, and operators with strategic funding solutions designed to accelerate growth and maximize project success.
Prior to founding Direct Equity Source in 2022, Mr. Lawrence played a key role in raising capital for a Dallas–Fort Worth real estate investment company focused on the acquisition, rehabilitation, and disposition of residential and commercial properties — developing strong relationships with private investors, lenders, and industry professionals along the way.
He further expanded his expertise by working alongside developers and operators in the self-storage and flex-space sectors, assisting with financing strategies and capital sourcing for projects throughout Texas and Florida. These experiences provided valuable insight into underwriting, project evaluation, investor communications, and capital stack structuring across multiple asset classes.
Under his leadership, Direct Equity Source has provided financing solutions across multifamily, self-storage, flex-space, hospitality, mixed-use, industrial, and development opportunities — working closely with private equity groups, family offices, institutional lenders, debt funds, and accredited investors to structure customized capital nationwide.
Garland Benton
Director of Business Development | Direct Equity Source
Garland Benton serves as Director of Business Development at Direct Equity Source, bringing over 25 years of experience in private equity investments with a specialization in commercial and residential real estate, oil and gas projects, self-storage, and small-bay industrial warehouses.
After attending Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, Garland began his career in the early 2000s with the largest oil & gas broker-dealer firm in the U.S. After transitioning away from the energy sector, he focused on multifamily and residential portfolios in the North Texas market. Over the course of his career, he has been involved in more than $700 million worth of asset acquisitions and has served as both a limited and general partner across multiple asset classes.
With deep connections across broker-dealers, family offices, high-net-worth investors, sponsors, and developers, Garland brings a broad partner network and hands-on experience to every project and funding deadline.
As an accredited investor himself, Garland has personally invested in private placements, syndications, businesses, and start-ups — giving him first-hand insight into the opportunities and challenges investors face. He is passionate about educating investors on the value of self-storage and small-bay industrial business park investments as tools for long-term wealth creation.
Joel Duncan
Marketing Manager | Direct Equity Source
Joel Duncan is a Texas-based real estate finance and investment professional serving as Marketing Manager at Direct Equity Source in Austin. Since joining the firm in 2024, he has focused on marketing activities with an emphasis on self-storage facilities, flex industrial properties, and RV park developments.
Prior to Direct Equity Source, Joel served as Vice President of Project Development for a Rockwall-based private equity firm, where he played a key role in raising capital, underwriting opportunities, and facilitating the acquisition and financing of nearly 20 self-storage and related commercial real estate projects.
Joel studied business at Texas A&M University and has built his career around fostering relationships with developers, sponsors, family offices, and high-net-worth investors. His expertise in real estate finance, investment marketing, and syndication strategy aligns closely with Direct Equity Source's mission of delivering structured investment opportunities and passive income solutions backed by essential real estate assets.
Operating Partners
Team Operations
Direct Equity Source partners with seasoned operators to execute with discipline at the asset level. Our self-storage operations are led by the principals of AAA Storage.
Paul Bennett
AAA Managing Director
Mr. Bennett is the President of AAA Storage and Managing Director of AAA Storage Investments, the Fund Manager. He has over 30 years of experience in real estate and corporate finance as an investor, senior executive, and advisor.
After starting his real estate private equity career in 1981 with a North Carolina real estate investment and syndication firm, Mr. Bennett served as Senior VP of Limited Partnership Products for Thomson McKinnon Securities — one of the top 5 investment brokerage firms in the United States at the time. There, he was part of a team that raised and deployed in excess of $100 million annually, primarily investing in real estate assets including self-storage.
From 1990 through 2015 Mr. Bennett held various positions including President and Managing Director of a boutique investment bank. In 2016, he became President and CEO of Southern Spear, Inc., a privately owned investment company and the U.S. subsidiary of a European family office that invests in commercial real estate and makes direct control investments in lower middle market companies. While at Southern Spear, Mr. Bennett managed a portfolio of real estate assets valued at more than $130 million, including the development of an $80 million mixed-use project in North Carolina.
Mr. Bennett left Southern Spear in March of 2023 to become the President of AAA Storage.
John Muhich
Founder & Managing Director | AAA Storage
John Muhich is the Founder and President of AAA Storage and has led all aspects of its activities since 1993. Mr. Muhich has personally directed the development of over 100 self-storage and office/warehouse flex properties and has successfully exited 90 properties valued at over $450 million.
At its peak in 2011, the Sponsor and its investors owned and managed 39 self-storage and office/warehouse flex properties — making the Sponsor the fifth-largest storage operator in the United States at that time. Mr. Muhich's experience spans strategy, market analysis, acquisition, site design, entitlements, permitting, finance, construction management, lease-up, property management, and disposition.
Mr. Muhich is the author of the Sponsor's unique and proprietary site design and engineering approach and is considered one of the top developers in the self-storage industry. Prior to AAA Storage, he worked as an engineer at IBM, designing computer processors for 19 years.
Mr. Muhich is also a direct private investor, with whole, majority, and minority ownership in a variety of companies outside of the real estate industry.
Our Mission
Building Trust.
Scaling Essentials.
We recognize the diverse nature of the investment journey. We distinguish ourselves through a personalized approach — starting with a conversation about your goals, your portfolio, and how we can serve you best.
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