So. Just like that… with a tweet, Dwolla announced their newest hire.
It has been a whirlwind of a year, with Baby D on the way and Candace stepping down from her Executive Director position at Pella Teen Challenge Women’s Home, and a new Charming Beard office on the town square in Pella, one would assume we’d be digging in for a long winter. But life has a way of opening doors when you least expect it. Such is the case with Dwolla.
Ever since I moved back to Iowa, I’ve been acutely aware of this small start-up with a big vision. I met Ben Milne at Ted-X Des Moines, in May of 2010, back then Dwolla was a scrappy start-up only licensed to operate in Iowa and California, but still garnishing a lot of regional attention. Over the next few months Ben and Shane Neuerburg successfully led the company through a series A funding of $1MM and partnership with Veridian Credit Union and TMG, a subsidiary of the Iowa Credit Union League. A couple weeks later the two-man team launched a mobile “cash-sharing” integration and announced it’s entrance into the National market at Mars Cafe in Des Moines. I was at this event, and was stunned at the attendance… as all of us were smashed into the tiny Mars Cafe space, with beers in our hands and a free Dwolla t-shirt draped around our shoulders. It was an electric event, one that vaulted Dwolla into the national spotlight.
Fast forward a year. Dwolla is fast approaching another big announcement and the team has expanded from it’s initial founders to a rabble-rouse of smart and scrappy techies. Without going into the details, I was brought on just shy of the big announcement to handle a variety of things from Business Development to Site Integration and Customer Support. It is a move that Candace and I are ecstatic about, and probably one of the only jobs that could have taken me away from Charming Beard Productions, as it combines my love of all things tech with a real entrepreneurial spirit (read: market disruption).
I couldn’t be more happy, last Thursday night, standing on this stage… As I join a team of exceptional talent, each of which are helping to build “the ideal payment network” for the next generation.
Don’t have a Dwolla account? Text 515.650.4583 and I’ll give you a dollar for your thoughts.
What is Dwolla?
Dwolla was created to help eliminate credit card fees, and make it quicker and easier for businesses to get paid. With free micro-transactions, and a flat 25 cents for everything else, Dwolla is the nation’s cheapest payment network.
No mystery fees, no sign up costs
Free online and mobile tools to make mobile payments work
Socially and locally connected for maximum exposure
Since I’m the new Business Development guy… I thought I’d better end this blog post with my first true pitch.
7 Comments on "Transition — Dwolla in DSM"
Congrats, Sir! The other day I read one of your tweets and thought “gosh, Sam has always got his hand in something new and exciting” and this new adventure reinforces that.
Question, and I obviously haven’t done much research, but what are the differences between Dwolla and Square?
great question! Square is a mobile payment gateway… Dwolla is a mobile payment network.
So. In reality Square could offer Dwolla as a payment option, like visa or MasterCard.
Any of those purple shirts still laying around in the office?
only some women’s smalls…
I read your tweet that instructed me to read this if I “work for a church.” I fail to see the connection why you asked my line of work to read this post. Please clarify.
Yep, the connection is this… I’m doing business development and I think churches are a great fit for implementing Dwolla as a online donation network. Though, in your case… it may not be a good fit.
Hope all is well Nick!
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