From the mountain to the block.

Dan Kaufman, founder of Dan Ventures, in downtown Orlando — Dan Kaufman · Orlando

I'm Dan Kaufman. I studied ski area management, went to work in the ski business, and have been investing in real estate since 1992, always looking for the places other people overlook.

Grew up: Massachusetts
Studied: Ski area management, in Vermont
Lives: Orlando, Florida

The path here

Massachusetts
Where I grew up.
Detroit
My first real estate investment, in 1992.
Vermont
College, with a major in ski area management.
On the road
Followed the Grateful Dead across the country, and saw a lot of small towns up close.
American Skiing Company
My first job in the ski business.
New York
Started my real estate career in the mid-2000s.
Florida
Home is Orlando now. Two urban infill projects in Jacksonville are my lab for testing new technologies and processes.
Dan Ventures
Where it all comes together: investing, affordable housing and mountain towns.

Why I started Dan Ventures

I grew up in Massachusetts and went to college in Vermont, where I majored in ski area management. After school I traveled across the country with the Grateful Dead, then landed a job with American Skiing Company. Mountains have been part of my work and my life ever since.

I made my first real estate investment in Detroit in 1992 and built my real estate career in New York starting in the mid-2000s. Besides Dan Ventures, I lead an established national real estate development and investment firm. Today I live in Orlando. In Jacksonville I have two urban infill projects that work as a lab, where I test new technologies and processes before bringing them to bigger projects.

I started Dan Ventures because I wanted to do more. I want to invest in places I believe in, make a real difference on affordable housing, and build around the thing that has always pulled me back to the mountains: a love of skiing. Project Counterpoint, Project Treeline, Common Frame and Project Palmline are how I'm doing that.

Dan Kaufman

Bio

For press, podcasts, events and introductions. Feel free to use either version as written.

Full bio

Dan Kaufman is the founder of Dan Ventures, a real estate developer focused on overlooked places: growing mid-size cities, mountain towns, and attainable and workforce housing. Besides Dan Ventures, he leads an established national real estate development and investment firm. He grew up in Massachusetts and made his first real estate investment in Detroit in 1992. He went on to study ski area management in Vermont, started in the ski business at American Skiing Company, built his real estate career in New York beginning in the mid-2000s, and also spent years in mobile app development. Today he lives in Orlando, where he leads Project Counterpoint, Project Treeline and Common Frame, along with Project Palmline, a 500-acre master-planned community in Homestead, Florida; Project Backbeat, a Nashville townhome community coming in 2028; and Project Caprock, an AI infrastructure development in Texas coming in 2029. His two urban infill projects in Jacksonville serve as a lab for modular construction, 3D printing, robotics and AI. He is a lifelong skier and writes about ski areas, resort economics and cities.

Short bio

Dan Kaufman is the founder of Dan Ventures, an Orlando-based real estate developer focused on overlooked places, from growing mid-size cities to mountain towns and workforce housing. He also leads an established national real estate development and investment firm, and made his first real estate investment in Detroit in 1992.

More about me on my personal site: danielerickaufman.com ↗

Need a high-resolution photo? Email dan@dan-ventures.com.

Beyond the work

Building in code

Alongside real estate, I spent years in mobile app development and product thinking during the fast-moving early days of mobile. The tools changed; my instinct to build stayed. It's why Dan Ventures tests AI, robotics and new construction methods on real projects.

Learning cities block by block

I learn a city by walking it: the street art, the music venues, the corners that are changing. Places reveal themselves in the details, and those details are usually what everyone else overlooks.

A lifelong skier

Vermont sharpened my mountain instincts, and skiing still shapes my winters. I care about independent ski areas and the towns around them, which is a big part of why Project Treeline exists.

Live music

From following the Grateful Dead across the country to the sound and scale of the Sphere, live music has been a throughline. Years of concerts taught me how much a great room depends on design.