Why Mint.com + Intuit is a Big Idea

Today, exactly two years after launching at TechCrunch40, I’m excited to announce that we have signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Intuit, makers of Quicken, QuickBooks, and TurboTax, for approximately $170 million. It’s a great opportunity that could bring Mint.com’s unique approach to personal financial management to millions more consumers and small businesses as well as the 1,800 banks and credit unions serviced by Intuit.

In two years, we’ve attracted over 1.5 million users, found over $300 million in savings, managed $50 billion in assets, and helped people track nearly $200 billion in purchases. Most importantly, we’ve helped a lot of people better understand and do more with their money. Thousands of people have told us that Mint.com has helped them pay off debt, control their spending, manage job loss, and even resolve money disputes with their significant other. Expect all of this goodness to increase after the acquisition closes. And yes, expect Mint.com to remain free!

This acquisition makes sense to me because, first and foremost, Mint.com and Intuit share a common vision. Intuit is, and has always been, a very customer-centric organization, with constant usability studies and follow-me-homes that observe how people use software and the problems they’re trying to solve. This is fully aligned with my design philosophy here at Mint.com. 

In addition, by joining Intuit, we can accelerate our ability to add more fantastic new product functionality into both Quicken and Mint.com. This means more people will find it easy and affordable to stay on top of their money issues. Bottom line? I see this as a chance to take a big leap forward toward our ultimate goal of improving the national savings rate.

Personally, I’ll play a leading role in the next phase of the evolution of Quicken, one of the best known, most trusted, and respected brands in software. A recent survey showed that 85% of U.S. adults had heard of Quicken. It’s humbling to work with the people who really pioneered the field of personal finance applications. 
Intuit is equally excited. They recognize Mint employees as innovative thought-leaders in the field, who can make a breakthrough contribution to Intuit’s connected services strategy.

We expect the deal will close by the end of the calendar year. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to be part of a larger team with more resources that will continue to deliver the best personal finance tools out there!

Aaron Patzer
Founder and CEO

For Intuit’s take see: http://blog.quicken.intuit.com/announcement/2009/09/14/mint-com-to-join-the-intuit-family/

9/15/09, Update:

I wanted to let you know that I’ve been following your comments and I totally appreciate your passionate response to our announcement. I’ll try to address your concerns as clearly as possible.

Here’s a little more detail on what’s happening. After the acquisition closes, the Mint.com team will be leading the development of both Mint.com and Intuit’s existing personal finance products, Quicken desktop and Quicken Online. The fact that Intuit has agreed to acquire Mint.com, and is leaving our team intact, is evidence that Intuit has been impressed by and wants to build upon the user experience that Mint.com offers. We’ll not only improve upon that experience for Mint.com but also bring our know-how to the Quicken product line. Destroying the Mint.com user experience does not make sense for Intuit, Mint.com or any of our users.

I can’t speak to Intuit’s customer service but Mint has always been as responsive as possible to our users. We believe this is one of the reasons for the success we’ve had and the trust you’ve put in us. Our ability to respond quickly to user requests is key to the way we build software. In fact, in the discussions leading to this deal, Intuit heard a lot about our software development process and told us they are very interested in learning how they can do the same thing for all of their software products, not just the personal finance ones.

Aaron Patzer
Founder and CEO

Intuit founder Scott Cook on why Mint.com won’t change

Tags: Update