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“April 19, 2010 – Mike Vetter of DataSync in Sioux Falls has been named the South Dakota Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 2010 by the South Dakota Small Business Administration District Office. DataSync delivers hosted and integrated business applications through its DataSync Suite and has been a client of the South Dakota Technology Business Center since 2007.

“We are very excited that Mike has received this honor,” said Rich Naser, the SDTBC’s executive director. “Mike has always demonstrated the tenancity and passion required to grow a successful busienss.”

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“I liked the idea of making life more efficient.”- Mike Vetter

With a knack for business early in life, it’s not surprising that Mike Vetter is the founder and CEO of DataSync in Sioux Falls at only 25 years old. When asked if this was something he’s always wanted to do, he replied, “I didn’t wake up one day and say, ‘I’m going to be an entrepreneur.’ But it ended up that way.”

Over the years Vetter has started multiple businesses. “My first business,” he said, “was fixing rollerblades and ice skates in middle school. I started a home PC service business with a friend in late high school, early college. And then when I was in college, my first real venture was called Vetter Solutions and we did IT consulting and services and security.”

A native of Madison, SD, Vetter spent two years attending a Bible College in Canada before returning to his home town to enroll at Dakota State University. He graduated in 2008 with degrees in e-commerce and computer security.

It was during college when he was working at Vetter Solutions when he first saw a need for consolidated software that was delivered. “I just saw this opportunity that there was a better way to deliver software to these people. Small businesses needed this,” he said.

So what does DataSync offer? Vetter explains: “We consolidate business applications into a single package, and deliver them as a service to any web browser. There’s nothing to install or configure, you just sign up for the service and access the software on any internet-connected computer with a web browser” he said, adding, “Our customers have done some very useful things with our software.” Among the customers DataSync works with are Monster.com and LifeLight.

Though starting his own business was worthwhile, Vetter explained that the road to success was rocky. “Focus is key when you’re running a startup. When you’re getting pulled in a gazillion directions, you’ve got to figure out what it is you want to do.”

Though Vetter’s interests have changed since he was in middle school, one thing remains clear: Vetter knows business. He knows that to do well in business, he needs to work with people who are smart, hardworking and share his passion. “I work with the greatest people ever,” he said. “I have so much respect for them. The people on the team here are smarter than I am in their respective areas. I intuitionally try to be the dumbest guy in the room.”

While the DataSync team is very specialized, Vetter focuses on team building to ensure that his team is both cohesive and heading toward the same goal. “We talk about it a lot. These people are really good, and their ages range from their mid-twenties all the way up to their 50s. They’re very diverse, but very cool people. I’m just blessed to have an incredible team.”

So where did he get the idea for DataSync? “I was a nerd in high school,” he explained. “I just played with a ton of technology. I was just one of those guys that liked to tinker with stuff, so I built computers, set up networks and built a backup system just because I thought it was interesting,” he said, adding, “I liked the idea of making life more efficient. I think that’s why we’re talking about simplifying stuff for our customers, because I just thought everything was too complicated. There’s too much gobbleygook that goes along with computers and I wanted to simplify it. So that’s how I came up with the idea for DataSync. It made sense to simplify this stuff.”

With so much technology in the world, it’s easy to get frustrated, and that’s where the DataSync team steps in. “[Technology exists] so people can do people things and computers can do the boring stuff,” said Vetter, asking, “Why else would you have a computer?”

“Make it work for you,” he said. “If you put data in, it should just be available to you. You shouldn’t have to move it from here to there manually. That’s why our software exists. It’s so people spend less time keying in information multiple times and hooking this computer to that computer. It’s just simple.”

South Dakota is seeing growth in technology, and fueling that growth are entrepreneurs like Vetter who believe keeping talented people in South Dakota is key. “If there was a large talent pool here, [South Dakota] would be the silver bullet,” he said. “If we can figure out a way to train people to be rock stars in technology, everyone will start businesses here.” Why? Vetter believes that South Dakota offers many reasons to start a business in the state.

“There are huge, huge benefits,” he said, noting in particular the low cost of living that allows companies to stay competitive. And while working in South Dakota has advantages, he said that there are reasons to consider living in the state as well.

“There are good people here. We’re in the Midwest. People work hard, and they have an ethical, moral underpinning.” he said, adding, “You don’t see that everywhere, and I think that’s awesome. I think our quality of living is higher because of access to great hunting and outdoor recreation, while still providing excellent career opportunities. Because of this, Sioux Falls was rated one of the best places to live in the country. Personally, I think Sioux Falls is just a great place to be.”

Vetter understands that opportunities in other states sometimes carry people away from South Dakota, saying, “Opportunity can’t be pinned down to just one place.” But instead of flocking to another state to find opportunity, why not follow in Vetter’s footsteps and create your own?

“It’s a fast-growth market,” he said, “It grows at 21% a year, so there’s room [for growth.]”