A FEW MINUTES WITH DANIEL VOGELZANG, CONSULTANT TO CORE INVESTMENTS
Daniel Vogelzang is an independent strategy and marketing consultant who has been working with CORE for four years.
What is the name of your company?
I’m intentionally a one-person company so it’s just my own name, Daniel Vogelzang Consulting.
Dan, what do you actually do for CORE?
That’s a little challenging to summarize succinctly. For the past four years, I’ve been playing the role of a fractional CMO to help lead CORE’s marketing efforts, managing the brand and communications for CORE and its projects. Especially its biggest project in development, On the Dot® [21+ acres of planned, mixed-use development in South Boston]. That means guiding our fantastic partner agencies in branding, design, marketing and PR. Ultimately, it is helping our internal and external audiences understand what CORE is doing and building excitement and buy-in.
The other part is collaborating with CORE’s fantastic executive team and all their amazing real estate professionals. It’s a real treat to get to be involved in so many aspects of the business: zoning and entitlements, investor relations, tenant marketing, community relations, placemaking. That’s what makes CORE such an interesting firm to work with.
I’m currently moving to more of an advisory role at CORE, so I’ll have more time to bring on new clients and projects in the new year.
What else do you do besides work for CORE?
I work with a wide range of companies all over the U.S. from large enterprises to start-ups to non-profits to partner agencies, with a lot of specialized experience in the real estate, finance, and technology industries.Sometimes I work with clients like CORE over long-term arrangements as an internal marketing leader, and other times I’m engaged for a short, intense projects to lead or advise on strategy, (including vision, mission, values, positioning, etc), branding, design, marketing, investor funding materials, product development, and more.
I get to apply my expertise in design thinking, workshop facilitation, creative direction, product development, coaching, and design sprints to solve complex problems, creating significant value and impact for my clients in times of transition or significant growth.
What is a Design Sprint?
It’s a framework developed by some folks at Google Ventures to help companies solve problems really fast in a one-week, facilitated workshop format. In that week, a small team can deeply understand a key problem, creatively develop a solution in the form of a basic prototype, and then test it with real users or customers to validate results. It’s very intense but the results are often transformational.
What did you do before consulting?
I’ve been doing independent consulting for the last 12 years. Before that I was a partner in a boutique design and branding agency.
And where did you grow up?
I grew up in a few different slices of America. Born in the Midwest (Iowa), a little bit in Kentucky, then Philly, and then Vermont before I went off to school.
Where did you go to school?
Skidmore College, in upstate New York, Saratoga Springs. I got a B.S. degree in studio art with a concentration in graphic design and photography. I moved to Boston after college and have been here ever since!
Where do you live now?
Reading, Massachusetts.
What do you do to have fun when you’re not working?
With the blessings of a wife, three kids and a dog, there’s always something going on. We do a lot of driving around to activities, going to sports and music practice, all sorts of things. We’re very involved in our church. We like to go skiing in winter and get out in nature in the nice weather. We love to travel, eat at great restaurants and explore different places. I’m a big fan of trying new things and new experiences.
What’s a favorite place of yours in the Boston area?
Hmm. It could be the MFA [Museum of Fine Art]. I love the Common too. Anywhere that offers a different view of the city. My wife Jen and I have a running joke as she will often catch me saying “This is my favorite view of Boston,” but it’s always from a different place or vantage point.
Is there anything new in your life?
A couple of things. Some people know that I have recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. It’s generally been pretty mild symptoms so far, but its an up-and-down process. I’m always trying to stay positive, learning a lot, with many great medical resources here in Boston and a lot of new therapies in development that I believe will be game-changers in the coming years.
I’m so sorry to hear that, Dan. Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks—I’m told the best thing I can do, is what we should all be doing—taking care of our bodies and minds with lots of exercise, good sleep habits, healthy eating, managing stress, all that stuff. Always a work in progress!
The other thing has been an area of growing interest for me. I’m leaning more heavily into board work. I’ve been serving on non-profit boards for a while, and I’m looking to bring that experience to be a director on a corporate board, as a complement to my consulting work. I get really excited about effective governance and long meetings. I know—fun, right? After working with a lot of companies in different industries, I think I have something to offer there, so we’ll see.