Others have taken notice, to the point that those involved in the technology start-up scene in Des Moines use Dwolla as an example that it can be done here. It’s a two-fold effect, they say. Not only are people with ideas more likely to take a risk, but they’re more likely to find funding. Now the trick is leveraging that into more successful tech start-ups.

Here’s what local experts are saying about Dwolla and the impact it has had on the start-up culture in the area.

Mike Colwell
Executive director, Business Innovation Zone

Most of us who start something remember the first time we started something and not having anything, and wanting that first customer. I think the people who are business people need to take what these start-ups do and give it a try. Buy something with them. We see that a lot with Dwolla. Dwolla doesn’t have a lot of up-front costs, but it has got a lot of up-front time because a lot of people engage it. I think that’s why they got the traction to go beyond Des Moines is because they were well-exposed and accepted in Des Moines. It’s unfortunate that they’re the one that is held up all the time, because they’re not the only one. They’re the most recent. It’s cool, because I think their owner’s cool. But there are a lot of great start-ups here. It’s important to have start-ups that have succeeded for others to see so they believe they can succeed, too. I think it’s incredibly important. But I’d rather see 100 really successful start-ups than one Google-level start-up – and I really hope Dwolla gets that big someday. But I’d rather see 100 really successful companies that grow well and do well than get that one behemoth that becomes the only thing.

John Stineman
Executive director, Heartland Technology Alliance

Having the success story to point to is good. Somebody needs to show that it can be done, and can be done with local talent. So that’s the initial success. It’s always critical to get a movement started, to be able to point to ‘We want to do what they did.’ While Dwolla is still in start-up mode, they do a lot, so everybody wants to point to a success story. It’s inspirational. It inspires people to say ‘Well, I have an idea, too.’

Christian Renaud
Principal, StartupCity Des Moines

Ben Milne, when he got started with Dwolla, he would go talk to people and they’d say, ‘No, we don’t really have an appetite for start-ups, and we don’t want to fund you.’ He was grading the road, putting down the gravel and paving it for other people. At that point in time, (start-ups would say) ‘I couldn’t find the resources.’ Now I think what we’ve done in the last three or four years is we’ve created enough chatter that people feel like they’re part of the conversation, that they can do it, and that they have the resources to do that locally.