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Ben Milne Threw Away Cash, What It Means For Startups Like Dwolla

Plastic credit cards and debit cards have taken over a lot of people’s use of cash. More often than not, when I’m walking in a major city and I’m asked by a homeless person for money, my go to (and true) reason for not giving a guy a quarter or a dollar is I simply don’t carry cash.

Now, mobile wallet startups are starting to replace credit cards. Pocket loads are shrinking thanks to startups like Dwolla and PayTango and companies like Google and Paypal. And things are only going to get easier, at least for some.

While speaking at the Money2020 conference in Las Vegas this week, Business Insider reports that Milne told an interesting story to the audience. He mistakenly threw away cash because he thought it was an old burrito wrapper.

“I reached into my pocket the other day and felt crumpled paper in there,” Milne told the audience. “I thought I had absentmindedly put my burrito wrapper from lunch in there, but it was actually some dollar bills.”

Milne was speaking about how easy money transactions are going to be.

For years Paypal has been the leader in the digital payments space. Millions of people have Paypal, and now with Paypal’s mobile app you can send someone money via the service in just seconds. If they have one of Paypal’s debit cards or they’re signed up for PayPal wallet, users can just as quickly spend the money. The same is true for Google’s wallet product and the ability to use an Android phone with NFC technology at hundreds of thousands of PayPass locations across the country.

Milne’s own startup Dwolla is making it incredibly easy to send money from one user to another, and they only charge $.25 per transaction (transactions under $10 are free). Milne hopes that sending money via the internet becomes as easy as sending a photo of pop queen Miley Cyrus.

“Our world is already virtual, we just don’t realize it yet,” he said. “If all you have is an Internet connection, you can’t send money around the world very easily, but it’s no problem to send someone a picture of Miley Cyrus. What we’re doing – easy Internet payments – is an inevitability. We may not be the people to do it, though I’m working my ass off to make sure we are.”

Fargo Fund Raised $45 Million Dollars To Support Even More In The Silicon Prairie

Last week, Fargo North Dakota firm Arthur Ventures announced the closing of their second fund. Silicon Prairie news reports that the firm founded in 2008 began with a $20 million dollar fund which went “primarily to North Dakota and Minnesota”.

“With the second fund, we are making a concerted effort to add Omaha, KC, Des Moines and their surrounding regions as focus areas for investments,” said Patrick Meenan, a director with Arthur Ventures. In addition to supporting Omaha, KC and Des Moines, the company launched a satellite office in Minneapolis where about 40% of their deal flow is sourced.

The firm is looking to invest in fund startup with between $1m and $3m per round.“Our goal is to discover the best enterprise software applications and software in healthcare, agriculture, and the energy space,” Arthur Ventuers Managing Partner James Burgum told tech.mn

“We believe in the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to transform existing markets and to create new markets,” the firm’s co-founder and chairman Doug Burgum said in a release. “Software is the greatest invention yet that extends human capabilities, and we are grateful to help build enduring companies whose solutions can have such a positive impact on the human condition.”

Some of the companies already in the Arthur Ventures portfolio include: Altravax, Intelligent InSites, LiquidCool Solutions, Loyalty Builders, Preventice and Workface, according to SPN.

Iowa Startup BidOnMyJob Harnesses SMS To Take On Craigslist

A new Iowa Startup called BidOnMyJob is ready to talk on the likes of Craigslist and AngiesList. The startup, founded by Derrick Hans and Nathan Gibson takes the, gigs and service offered sections out of Craigslist and has made a targeted platform for job matching, social discovery, and referrals.

The concept behind BidOnMyJob is that there are contractors and people who can do work for other folks just about anywhere. ”

You have a huge network out there at your fingertips. Chances are there is someone that knows someone who can and wants to fix it for you” Hans said.

Contractors, workers and neighborhood handymen can sign up for an account at BidOnMyJob. From there, when there is a job posted that meets their criteria they will be alerted through the website and via text message.

We talked to Bruce Matheson, a carpenter and contractor in Maryland who said that the SMS integration would give BidOnMyJob a leg up on competitive sites he already uses for jobs. “I can only check Craigslist and Angie’s List in the morning before I go out for a Job and then at lunch. The jobs are gone by then. Having a system that texts me jobs would keep me more competitive.”

In addition to SMS alerts BidOnMyJob has a great social component that allows every job to easily be shared across multiple social networks like Twitter and Facebook, by email or even by text message. Hans and Gibson have launched the company in the Des Moines metro area and will stay local for now, but do plan on a nationwide roll out.

Linkage:

Check out BidOnMyJob here

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Iowa Startup BidOnMyJob Harnesses SMS To Take On Craigslist

The concept behind BidOnMyJob is that there are contractors and people who can do work for other folks just about anywhere.

” You have a huge network out there at your fingertips. Chances are there is someone that knows someone who can and wants to fix it for you” Hans said.

Hans and Gibson have launched the company in the Des Moines metro area and will stay local for now, but do plan on a nationwide roll out.

Linkage:

Check out BidOnMyJob here

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Iowa City Startup: Ready To Go In America Wins Dream Big Contest

A startup that provides a pocket guide and mobile app for international students visiting the United States has won the Iowa “Creative Corridor’s Dream Big Contest”.

Ready to Go In America came away with the $5,000 prize in the contest last Thursday after pitching to a panel of judges. This moved the startup into the next round where they will be competing against other Iowa startups for $10,000 this time around.

The startup was founded by Jeff Owens, Mekinda Mekinda and Bobby Schlichting. Mekinda is an international student currently enrolled in a program at Kirkwood Community College. Owens is a senior informatics and art major at the University of Iowa and Schlicting is a farmer and entrepreneur from Vinton Iowa.

“It’s unreal,” Owens said to Iowa City Area Development. “There was so much competition. I was surprised to win, and having so many people supporting our idea makes me even more excited about it.”

“This is a dream coming true,” said Mekinda, who is orignially from Cameroon. “I’ve always heard the USA is a country of dreams. Now I know it is truly a reality.“

Ready To Go In America beat out 32 other entrepreneurs who competed in the contest that garnered over 10,000 votes. The top five startups in the voting competition squared off in front of the judges and an audience of nearly 100.

While Ready To Go In America was the official winner the judges also liked the pitch and presentation from high school student Eli Shepherd. Shepherd has found an environmentally friendly way to produce skateboards and apparel. He told the judges during his pitch that he needed $300 to fund the buying of equipment to produce his skateboard decks. The judges put the $300 together on their own to help Shepherd get his startup off the ground.

“Seeing so many people and organizations come together to support our region’s entrepreneurs has made the Creative Corridor Dream Big contest an inspiring project to be part of,” said Amanda Styron of Seed Here Studio, the group coordinating the contest and event. “We had a great night at the Live Pitch + Tech Brew! It was the perfect way to wrap-up the contest. I’m totally inspired by our growing community. It was a great night to get inspired, connect with the community and celebrate going big.”

The lead sponsor for the statewide contest is the Iowa Banker’s Association. Iowa is a hub of startup excitement. There are a lot of great startups including Ashton Kutcher backed Dwolla, in the state of Iowa.

Linkage:

Source: Iowa City Area Development

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Des Moines Startup: Proferral Taking On The Traditional Business Card INTERVIEW

Earlier this summer, we reported on a young Florida startup called Feathr that’s looking to replace the traditional business card by sending contact information and other relevant professional information via mobile app. Today we turn to the middle of the country and Des Moines IA, and a new startup called Proferral.

Des Moines app development startup iapps24 has designed Proferral to be a business referral app that also looks to eliminate the business card. They also have baked in premium features that will allow you to make calls and set appointments in a mobile CRM style solution that will execute and keep track of the call and appointment.

Proferral also takes into consideration the context for which business cards and contact information are exchanged. An integrated calendar allows users to set follow-up appointments right away. Other features baked into Proferral include a portal to offer discounts and rewards, a place to publish videos and testimonials, and other tools that help connectors make the most out of the networking experience.

Proferral also offers a rich networking community within the website, Android and iOS apps. Users can join an already existing network or create a new one.

This feature packed app, and thriving app development startup are percolating in Des Moines IA which is a hotbed of new technology startups. We got a chance to interview iapps24. Check out the interview below.

Des Moines Startup: Tikly Wants To Solve Ticket Shock, INTERVIEW

Des Moines Iowa startup Tikly wants to solve ticket shock. The startups 22 year old founder Emma Peterson experienced ticket shock first hand while touring for roughly a year with Iowa’s favorite American folk band, The Nadas. What she found while touring with them is that venues and artists feel ripped off and taken advantage of by the outrageous fees associated with the mainstream ticketing services (LiveNation/TicketMaster). So rather than trying to design some new platform to game the TicketMaster system Peterson set out to create a whole new ticketing system.

Tikly is that system. Peterson tells us in the interview below, that her fee structure is centered around easy to understand, low-cost, flat rate fees. This is obviously something that artists, venues and fans will love.

We’ve seen a lot of ticketing apps proposed, like one being accelerated at the Brandery in Cincinnati. That team is hoping to provide a platform for small group ticket sales to sporting events. Another ticketing platform Tikk.it, was presented last week in Chattanooga at the GigTank demo day. They hope to take on Ticketmaster as well.

With a mission that rivals Eddie Veder’s campaign against TicketMaster in the 1990’s, Peterson is hoping that independent artists, and smaller venues will embrace Tikly and help her build scale for her ticketing startup. We think that by going to artists and small venues directly, rather than trying to rock the sports industry or game the concert market, Peterson has a more realistic plan for success.

Check out our interview with this young, innovative female entrepreneur from middle America below.

Silicon Prairie News Now Taking Nominations For Annual Awards Show August 30

Four years ago Silicon Prairie News (or SPN as they’re affectionately known) began reporting on stories in Omaha and surrounding areas. They soon added coverage from Des Moines, Kansas and other areas. Today SPN is the site of record for anything happening in the Silicon Prairie.

While we know all too well how hard it can be to get traction and coverage for Startups “everywhere else” SPN covers their regional area with the veracity that TechCrunch covers Silicon Valley. Not only that but SPN co-founder Jeff Slabotski has formed quite a community around the tech site and the rising startup scenes out there.

To recognize the hard work that startups and tech companies have put forth in the region, Silicon Prairie News started The Silicon Prairie Awards. We are all well aware that the work put into a startup “everywhere else” towers the work needed to build a startup on either coast. Not only are entrepreneurs and startup founders fighting for big media coverage, resources, funding, and talent are more challenging.

Silicon Prairie News has also become a valuable resource to other tech and startup news sites. We’ve picked up some great stories from SPN.

“Over the last four years, Silicon Prairie News has worked to highlight and support the region’s startup community,” SPN co-founder Jeff Slobotski said in a release. “The Silicon Prairie Awardsis now an annual opportunity to bring that community together under one roof and recognize the companies and individuals that have had an exceptional year.”

The Silicon Prairie Awards will highlight the achievements of startups in their core coverage areas Omaha, Des Moines and Kansas City. The awards will be in these categories; Startup, New Startup, Consumer Startup, B2B Startup, Mobile Application, Startup Executive, Startup Technologist, Startup Designer, Startup Investor and Startup Service Provider.

Nominations are being taken here through July 25th.

Linkage:

Source: DesMoinesRegister.com

Cast your vote now at SPN

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Des Moines Startup: Freebee Cards About To Launch, Making Customer Loyalty And Engagement Fun

A new Des Moines based startup called FreebeeCards is preparing for launch. They are launching May 15th in Des Moines and they are currently signing up merchants and users, for what promises to be a fun and exciting new way to build customer loyalty and engagement.

Freebee Cards was founded by CEO Ken Lazzaro who is a consultant in the reward/loyalty card and credit card processing space so he has experience with this kind of thing. How did he come up with Freebee Cards? Their marketing guy Todd Razor told us in an interview:

“Ken’s consulting company, which educates and helps business owners implement gift card, loyalty and credit card processing programs, was working with the owner of a women’s clothing boutique in Austin, Texas. Ken had just sold the business owner a point-of-sale system, and she was also very interested in increasing customer loyalty. Ken’s company approached her about offering preloaded gift cards with varying values of $5, $10, $25 and $50 to customers in her area.

She loved the idea of consumers having to visit her store to find out the value of the cards. Yet a concern over not being able to measure the customer acquisition cost stopped her short of running that program.

Ken soon realized that developing an electronic version of this gift card marketing concept would allow merchants to track customer shopping habits, as well as open a direct line of communication to make special offers, reward customer loyalty and collect candid feedback outside of the public’s view.

It snowballed into an idea for a website and FreebeeCards was born.”

More after the break

Des Moines Based: Goodsmiths “The Market Place For Makers” Is Open For Business

Des Moines based Goodsmiths, the “Market Place for Makers” is now open for business. The co-founders James Eliason and Levi Roscol opened up for a soft launch on Wednesday April 4th. They characterized it as a soft launch because at opening they were only using local payment provider Dwolla. They’ve since added Paypal as a payment option.

While on the surface you may immediately think Etsy clone, Eliason and Roscol insist that Goodsmith’s is no Etsy clone.

Eliason and Roscol are differentiating Goodsmiths from Etsy in three key areas. The first is community. The co-founders told SiliconPrairie that when they started doing market research they found that a lot of users of competing sites like Etsy and Artfire weren’t pleased with their community offerings or lack there of. To win in the community area both founders have concentrated on building the communities and launched them at the same time as the rest of the site. They’ve also recruited bloggers to keep the content fresh within the communities.

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Yes Ashton Kutcher Did Invest In Des Moines’ Startup Dwolla

Most people in tune with the startup community have heard of Ben Milne and his payment startup Dwolla. Milne founded Dwolla in Des Moines and has no plans to take it elsewhere.

Dwolla is making a name for itself by providing a payment system that isn’t dependant on a traditional banking system or credit card backing. It’s this innovative approach to payments and the fact that they’re based in Des Moines that attracted actor and tech investor Ashton Kutcher and his A-list venture fund to Dwolla’s latest Series B round (announced in February).

Although announced in February Kutcher wasn’t formally announced as an investor until earlier today at Startup City Des Moines.

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Des Moines Start Up Answers The Question: What Are You Doing Later With ShareWhere

Dylan Hamilton, a Des Moines Iowa entrepreneur has been pondering a question that has yet to be answered. Six years ago Twitter answered the question “What are you doing”. Hamilton, with his start up called ShareWhere, hopes to answer the question “What are you doing later”.

ShareWhere’s purpose is to help the user easily create plans big or small and hopefully replace the hodge podge of texts and emails that traditionally go hand in hand with planning events on the go. Once the plan is hashed ShareWhere than matches those people in your plan with merchants that can help out with the plan.

Sure everyone has a deals program that will help you locate proximity based deals, but that’s not what ShareWhere is all about. The deals ShareWhere users enjoy pertain to the actual plan. For example if you and a group of 10 friends were going bowling, the bowling alley could give you a party room, a personalized discount on pitchers of beer and free shoes. Most deals sites would give you a discount on wings at the place across the street from the bowling alley.

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