Meet Vann Vogstad, Co-Liv’s Head of Accreditations

Founder of COHO 🏡 Effortless HMO management 👨‍💼 Changing how professionals live 👩🏾‍🤝‍🧑🏻 Coliving Advocate

by
Co-Liv
The Co-Liv Network

How do you currently define yourself and what drives you?

I’m an entrepreneur driven by building innovative businesses that disrupt industries and create a positive change for all involved. After exiting my last two tech startups, I focused on trying to make coliving the predominant way of living. My new company, COHO, is trying to make coliving more scalable for property investors by minimizing the management effort and simultaneously increasing the service quality. We take a focus that compatibility is one of the most significant factors in a shared house.

My drive is that my children have good options for coliving when they are older.

What makes you passionate about coliving, and why are you actively promoting the coliving scene?

I believe that technology, while having the ability to connect people, has made us more distant. People are increasingly living in solitude and caring less about community because there aren’t many options. But coliving, to me, presents an opportunity to reverse this trend. As people recognize this way of living and see the benefits of living with others, I believe they will become more connected not only with those immediately around them but with those in the local community.

Van Vogstad

What’s your personal vision and thoughts on the future of coliving for the year to come?

2021 is a pivotal year for coliving. We have seen massive growth in interest and recognition of 2020, accelerated due to COVID forcing people to think about the way they live. Those who spent a lot of 2020 alone in isolation may recognize the value of living with others. Those who were living with others will now recognize the importance of being with compatible people.

This year has forced many businesses to reconsider, from the offices that now recognize the value of “work from home” to the property developers looking at how to stay ahead of the curve. We see more value being put on the home, as a place not only to live but to work. Pair with this that this recent year has had an economic hit for many people, and I believe 2021 will be a year we will see a significant move towards coliving for many shared house providers. COHO is there to help make that process even faster and provide the ecosystem for these investors.

You recently joined Co-Liv as “Head of Accreditations” — which opportunities do you want to create for the organization, its members, and the coliving industry?

I would like to start to clear some of the myths and the mystery around coliving, creating a clear message to help spread its adoption not only by property investors and managers, but also the media, and as a result of that, people looking for an enjoyable living experience.

Two main ways I believe we can take steps towards this is by creating a coliving accreditation scheme. This will help define what coliving is and gradually stop the word being used purely as a marketing term. Secondly, creating a model of localized associations to begin solving problems that are territory-specific, and where necessary lobby for positive change.

How did you get into coliving?

After leaving university, where I split my time partly between my parent’s house and my girlfriends, I felt I missed out on the “university lifestyle.” I wanted to have that experience, moving into a house share of like-minded people where it was more than just a spare room. I found a perfect community where I’ve made life-long friendships and some really great memories. I would love for this opportunity to be more readily available to people, whether introverts or extroverts, of any age group.

Thank you for being part of this movement! How can people reach out and what can you mostly help them with?

Feel free to connect on LinkedIn or Facebook (Vann Vogstad), or email me, or if you’re a property manager/investor, please check out what we’re doing with COHO.

With lots of co-love,

The Co-Liv Team

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