Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 63 posts

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#41

Post by lacker »

pwk wrote: post #39
SwellJoe wrote: post #28

One of the best days I've had since starting my current company has been receiving an email from a C-level at our largest competitor, pointing out a flaw in the product comparison table on our website (due to the fact that they had released a new version that added one of the features we had that they didn't). I imagine the guys at Mint must have been downright giddy receiving this letter. On another note...Whenever…

One of the sadder examples for me is Polaroid, they were doing some strong work in digital imaging but supposedly it didn't receive internal support because "it would undermine our film business". It's one thing to turn a blind eye to upstart innovation, it's another to intentionally stifle it within a company. Any examples of companies that have done this right? Succeeded at replacing their own obsolete technology w…

Seems funny to talk about IBM in this context but they did start out making punch cards in 1896. They successfully made the transition to computers, mainframes, and then PCs, but then finally missed the shift from hardware to software. From about 1896-1980 they were pretty on the ball, though.

Also AT&T has made the transition from fixed to cell phones, okay so far.

It's a lot easier when the new business has the same business model but new technology. When the business model changes along with the technology, often the established company doesn't view change as "profitable enough" and decides to fight the future. If you're curious about this "The Innovator's Dilemma" is a really good book.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#42

Post by gruseom »

froo wrote: post #18
gruseom wrote: post #15

Why would Mint even respond to a letter like that? I could understand if, say, it were a reporter asking, but what right does a competitor have to demand such figures? Let alone so rudely. Though I suppose if the competition is determined to make themselves look like assholes, furnishing a polite reply and then leaking the whole thing isn't a bad way to help them out.

Hmm, I suppose if someone wanted to be truly a dick to quicken, they could have the publicly available figures printed onto a large billboard (the ones that go on the back of trucks) and park it in front of intuit's HQ. That's one way to present the info :)

That's funny, but it would be a big mistake. If they start acting arrogantly themselves, people will say "they're no better" and they'll lose the advantage of the contrast. The last thing to do when experiencing success is flaunt it and act entitled.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#43

Post by blurry »

jauco wrote: post #37
jupiter wrote: post #22

What about those boxes of Quicken rotting in the shelves of resellers/customers - doesn't Intuit count them as sold copies even if the software was never used?

They'll count them as sold copies as soon as the money is in. Buyer != user

Depends who is the buyer. If it's the store then Intuit will definitely account for them as purchased. I don't know how it works in shrink-wrap software retail, but in most retail situations products are bought wholesale by the store, not lent on consignment until the end-user purchases them.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#44

Post by blurry »

newmediaclay wrote: post #27

If you've used both Quickbooks Online and Mint, it's no surprise at all that Mint is doing so well. Mint just blows it out of the water in terms of UI, features, and ease of use.

I've used both Quickbooks online and Mint and as much as I agree with you on interface, I must completely disagree on features. I wish I could use Mint but after trying it out there are several showstopper issues. Just one example, Mint lacks the ability to import or even manually enter past transactions so it's really useless if you want to get all of 2008 in there.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#45

Post by jaaron »

blurry wrote: post #44
newmediaclay wrote: post #27

If you've used both Quickbooks Online and Mint, it's no surprise at all that Mint is doing so well. Mint just blows it out of the water in terms of UI, features, and ease of use.

I've used both Quickbooks online and Mint and as much as I agree with you on interface, I must completely disagree on features. I wish I could use Mint but after trying it out there are several showstopper issues. Just one example, Mint lacks the ability to import or even manually enter past transactions so it's really useless if you want to get all of 2008 in there.

Exactly. Without the ability to enter in other transactions (for example for cash), Mint is just read only. It's a great and useful read only view of your finances, but there's little other functionality.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#46

Post by dkokelley »

jrockway wrote: post #17
dkokelley wrote: post #14

I love mint. I actually caught fraud on my credit card while checking my balances on my iPhone through mint's app while at work. I was thinking of writing them a thank you letter. I would have been tempted to reply something like this: "At Mint, we have an algorithm to calculate the number of users we have. This function is defined as follows: mint users = (average logins during the past 7 business days / (registrati…

I actually caught fraud on my credit card while checking my balances on my iPhone through mint's app while at work. Don't you read the charges on your statement before you pay it?

Of course I do, but I was able to find it right away and report it, instead of going over my entire month's transactions and identifying which were mine and which weren't. Mint was a tool of convenience to me.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#47

Post by jpwagner »

tptacek wrote: post #5

I don't know if it's normal, but it's certainly an unbelievably fucking dumb marketing move; your dad knows Quicken, but might not have known about Mint --- until Quicken made sure he did.

It would be brilliant if Intuit is planning on buying mint...

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#48

Post by endtime »

mronge wrote: post #40
pwk wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the sadder examples for me is Polaroid, they were doing some strong work in digital imaging but supposedly it didn't receive internal support because "it would undermine our film business". It's one thing to turn a blind eye to upstart innovation, it's another to intentionally stifle it within a company. Any examples of companies that have done this right? Succeeded at replacing their own obsolete technology w…

Apple is really good at this. They are always willing to obsolete their products if there is something else better. A great example is the iPhone. They didn't care that it would cannibalize iPod sales, because they knew the iPhone was the next move. If they didn't do it, someone eventually would shrewdly combine music + phone and beat them to the punch. By trying to constantly out do themselves, and make a better "iP…

My dad once told me (in a business context; otherwise this would sound kind of weird): "If you're going to get destroyed, you want to own the means of your own destruction." It makes sense to me, but maybe that's easy to say as a student and hard to say as an executive with shareholders.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#49

Post by SwellJoe »

pwk wrote: post #39
SwellJoe wrote: post #28

One of the best days I've had since starting my current company has been receiving an email from a C-level at our largest competitor, pointing out a flaw in the product comparison table on our website (due to the fact that they had released a new version that added one of the features we had that they didn't). I imagine the guys at Mint must have been downright giddy receiving this letter. On another note...Whenever…

One of the sadder examples for me is Polaroid, they were doing some strong work in digital imaging but supposedly it didn't receive internal support because "it would undermine our film business". It's one thing to turn a blind eye to upstart innovation, it's another to intentionally stifle it within a company. Any examples of companies that have done this right? Succeeded at replacing their own obsolete technology w…

Woz brought the personal computer to HP, for nothing, and they turned it down. Another shining example of vision failure (and from a company that had historically been a leader in everything they did).

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#50

Post by SwellJoe »

jimbokun wrote: post #33
SwellJoe wrote: post #28

One of the best days I've had since starting my current company has been receiving an email from a C-level at our largest competitor, pointing out a flaw in the product comparison table on our website (due to the fact that they had released a new version that added one of the features we had that they didn't). I imagine the guys at Mint must have been downright giddy receiving this letter. On another note...Whenever…

"market leaders get eaten from the bottom" Textbook Innovator's Dilemma.

Yeah, you'd think somebody at Intuit would have read it.

But, even with the knowledge of the problem, seeing it in your own industry, and recognizing it when you're facing it and before it's too late, seems to be almost impossible. I suspect Intuit are beginning to get a feel for the weight of the problem they face, but I suspect their solution will be ill-conceived. They'll keep chugging away on "integrating" their desktop product with their web product, finding "synergy", and providing "more value" to their existing customer base...all the while that customer base flakes off bit by bit and lands right on Mint's plate. By the time Quicken has a credible web-based version, Mint will already be a more capable product and Intuit will be milking their tiny market share into the grave (there will probably also be a lawsuit or two, which they will lose).

Post reply on HN