Start-ups locate in Technology Business Center

Two new companies are moving into the South Dakota Technology Business Center (SDTBC). With the addition of these new clients, the Technology Business Center now has approximately 50 percent of its leasable space occupied. 

Avantis Financial, LLC, is an online financial services company providing short-term financing to individuals. Avantis has developed proprietary software to facilitate these transactions being conducted over the Internet. The company currently has six full-time employees with plans for significant growth over the next two years. Avantis can be found at www.avantisfinancial.com.

“The Technology Business Center has a tremendous infrastructure with great opportunities for networking,” said James Jacobson, president of Avantis. “The center gives the growing high tech company a chance to share experiences and administrative information with other business groups.”

The McGowan Group, LLC, is also opening its first office at SDTBC. With expertise in securing funding and assembling experienced management teams for early-stage companies, the McGowan Group will be a valuable resource for SDTBC’s other client companies.

One of the Technology Business Center ’s vital roles in the community is providing the framework for the interaction of start-up technology companies with experts in several business fields. To achieve that objective, SDTBC is the site for a series of monthly business roundtable discussions of the Technology Entrepreneur Network (TEN). Representatives of nearly a dozen start-up technology firms have attended the two sessions already held. The first workshop featured human resource professionals Renee Storm and Jolee Thurn, while Richard Billion, a partner in the firm of Schwegman, Lundberg, Woessner & Kluth, and Dr. Benjamin Perryman, Director of the South Dakota Health Research Foundation, both experts on intellectual property and industry-educational agreements, headlined the second session. For information on future TEN Roundtable workshops, contact Rich Naser at SDTBC.

The South Dakota Technology Business Center now has seven early-stage companies either located in the facility or participating in its Virtual Office program. For more information  about the facility or programs, visit the website www.sdtbc.com or call (605) 275-8000.