New building to receive SDTBC “graduate” company

DocuTAP, a South Dakota Technology Business Center start-up company that had just one employee a couple of years ago, will soon be relocating to the new “graduates” building right next door. Sioux Falls Construction is putting finishing touches on the 15,000 square foot facility, which offers instant communication and technology connections to firms moving out of SDTBC.

“We’re moving because our incubation phase is over,” said Eric McDonald, CEO and founder of DocuTAP. “We have successfully deployed our product to over 300 users in the last 18 months, proving a consistent business model and consistent growth, with two new clinics coming on board each month.”

According to Dr. Lowell Hyland, a physician who serves on DocuTAP’s board of directors, the company is revolutionizing the electronic storage and transfer of medical records. DocuTAP’s system was created from the user’s perspective, making it adaptive to the individual doctor’s needs and method of practicing medicine.

“As Eric was creating this product, he did his preliminary work with physicians, in clinics,” Hyland said. “He spent the first two years of development in exam rooms, watching doctors interact with patients. That’s one of the reasons our product works so well in a clinic application.”

In addition to DocuTAP’s product excellence, the enterprise’s tenure in the Technology Business Center has played a big role in the success it has achieved, Hyland said.

“From our standpoint, the amenities of this facility have allowed us to reach this point,” he said. “We’ve been able to focus on developing our staff and organization to move to a new level of business success. We appreciate the unique opportunity afforded us by the Technology Business Center.”

McDonald said that Sioux Falls is creating loyalty in graduate companies along with the springboard effect of SDTBC.

“I actually created this company in Arizona,” he said. “I just can’t see the incubator concept working there. Sioux Falls is perfect for this idea. The support here has been great and companies can really feel the effect.”

DocuTAP is centering its growth plan on new urgent care clinics—a segment of the health care market growing by 1,000 new facilities a year. The company is creating a niche for itself in a very competitive industry, according to McDonald.

“This is going to be a huge industry,” he said. “There are 300 companies doing something similar nationwide. Many don’t compete with us directly, but there are 12 to 15 firms which are our primary competition.”

And, with its 20 employees helping grow the company in 6,000 square feet of brand new office space in the graduates building, DocuTAP is poised to meet that competition head-on.