Tech Start-Ups Find a Home on the Prairie

As Ben Milne sought money for the mobile-payment company he began developing here three years ago, investors responded with rejections by the dozens.

Eventually, he coaxed $1 million from a pair of local investors. His app, Dwolla, has since attracted more than 100,000 users, and now moves $30 million to $50 million in transactions a month.

So when he decided to seek a second round of financing last year, Mr. Milne, a 29-year-old college dropout, had an easier sell. This time investors courted him. This year, he announced that Dwolla had drawn $5 million more in capital from investors on both coasts, including Ashton Kutcher and a firm with Twitter and Foursquare in its portfolio.

By JOHN ELIGON

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/us/silicon-prairie-takes-root-in-the-great-plains.html