TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/488965
26 | Th e M Rep o RT Industry Influencers Iannitti says. "The whole process is completely automatic and absolutely free of charge. This initiative demonstrates the fact that we are a technology company and want to do everything we possibly can to help our clients and potential clients leverage the technology we create and do a better job extending their service to their clients." The company is currently gearing up for the adoption of TILA-RESPA on Aug. 1. "It's one thing to prepare from a techni- cal perspective, but we have a lot of train- ing sessions going on because, of course, our support people have to answer every question that will come in," Iannitti says. "So already everyone is being trained to understand exactly how everything works and how to answer questions correctly. It's a major undertaking but it's exciting at the time—these things shake the industry up. For companies like us, we enjoy change, so we thrive in this type of atmosphere." In addition to helping clients ensure they are compliant with TILA-RESPA, DocMagic helps their clients adjust to changing MISMO, standards as well. "Today's clients needs are much more extensive. All of our integrations are based on the latest, greatest versions of MISMO." Iannitti says. "Our clients have never dealt with this before, and it is radically different than the previous version, so having the ability to have a professional services arm has been critical to us to be able to help these clients with those types of needs." As demonstrated by the needs created by such regulatory changes, one of the greatest areas of growth for the company in recent years has been in the call center. With a magnifying glass on all the chang- es the industry is experiencing, Iannitti explains that there has been a substantial uptick in questions, calls, concerns, tweets and requests. "From our call center perspective, we are now putting on a mid- and late-evening shift, so we are almost around-the-clock," he says. "There's a lot of growth in this area, but that's what is necessary to give our clients the quality of service that they expect from DocMagic." Despite these changes, Iannitti is quick to remind us that, at its core, DocMagic is and always has been a technology company. "In every aspect of what we do we've leveraged technology to such an extent that it's what allows us to be on the cut- ting, even arguably, bleeding edge of just about everything we do." 3MReport.indd Dominic "Don" Iannitti president and Ceo at DocMagic, Inc. I t doesn't take long to realize that Dominic "Don" Iannitti is a man with a vision. Whether he's leading his team in his role as president and Ceo of DocMagic, Inc., or he's excitedly sharing his plan for the company's future, it's hard to ever imagine a time when he didn't have a clear vision of where he was headed. This unwavering drive is a trait honed through years of hard work and approaching business the only way he knew how: by get- ting in the trenches with his team and never flinching from the evolving technol- ogy needs of the mortgage industry. "I was always an entrepreneur. even at 10 years old I was selling something," Iannitti recalls with a laugh. "When I was a kid, it was okay to go door to door; you could sell flower seeds, brass social security cards to the elderly … there was no end. I always enjoyed brainstorming and coming up with sales ideas." This entrepreneurial spirit resurfaced when Iannitti and close high-school friend Alan Brisbane hatched their first great business idea in college. The idea was light years ahead of its time—a video rental delivery service back in the days when video rental stores were only just popping up in Los Angeles. Looking back, this early business venture is the perfect example of the skill that has served Iannitti so well in the mortgage technology sector—his abil- ity to recognize a need within an existing industry and fulfill it better than anyone else in the field. "It was an interesting concept that worked well for us," Iannitti says. "There were 20 or 30 stores that would work with us, and then we added food—it was kind of a big deal. It was fun. We didn't make any money but we learned a lot. The entrepreneurial spirit has always shined bright in my persona, there's no question about that." While Iannitti outgrew this business concept, the solid friendship and business partnership be- tween Iannitti and Brisbane is an enduring one. one of DocMagic's first employees back in 1988, Brisbane is still with the company today, now in the role of Coo. Iannitti proudly considers him his right-hand man. "Don and I have known each other for more than 35 years. he has a way of empowering employees that gives DocMagic an edge on our competition. We sit right across from each other and each day still feels like the first day," Brisbane said. With his keen sense for business from an early age, it's not surprising that, upon enter- ing college, Iannitti declared a double major in business and finance. It was during this period that he first encountered the mortgage industry, albeit in an unusual way. "At one point I had a job in accounting, work- ing at a college in Carson, California, and there was this building across the street that was just really sharp, and I always thought to myself, 'I want to work in that building. That's a great looking build- ing.' Turns out it was a mortgage company." Iannitti, spurred by his enthusiasm for his busi- ness classes, put plans into place for DocMagic before graduation day even rolled around. "You can never over-emphasize the impor- tance of planning," Iannitti advises. "I worked on my business plan for many, many months. It's funny because I used that plan to go out and grab capital, which served us that first year of the operation. At the end of the year, my bottom line was within $6,000 off what my plan said it would be. Which is unheard of. Business plans are never right when it comes to that stuff." Today, Iannitti has his own dream office—a multimillion dollar facility that, thanks to its unique, modern design, has won accolades from the American Institute of Architects. In classic Iannitti style however, he is not done dreaming. "We know what we want to accomplish in the next 10 years," Iannitti said coyly, alluding to the next steps for DocMagic. "It's our entrepreneurial spirit that makes this possible." ExEcutivE cornEr "DocMagic as a whole understands the immense value of its most important resource—which is the people that make this place run. We take a lot of steps to make sure our employees are comfortable."