Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal? • Hacker News Board

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

#21

Post by ComputerGuru » Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 8:36 AM UTC

The reason Mint is doing so well is quite simple: it's so damn easy to use.

I just signed up now, and I was expecting to have to go through a number of loops to get it to grab the data from my multiple bank accounts, but it was a breeze. Just another step in the sign-on procedure - truly great work on minimizing the number of people that default from linking their bank accounts.

And the UI is goal-oriented with a deep understanding of common tasks people want. I saw my transactions and renamed one of them..... and was about to groan how stupid this going to be, renaming everything else to match, when I saw the "rename all other instances of xxx always" option. I was floored.

Great work, Mint!

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

#22

Post by jupiter » Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 8:37 AM UTC

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?

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

#23

Post by ComputerGuru » Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 8:42 AM UTC

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.

Not really. If your dad doesn't know about Mint, chances are he definitely doesn't know TechCrunch either.

Intuit's charade was only seen by a certain demography of users, that by and large does not include Quicken-only users.

Nevertheless, silly move by Intuit, I agree.

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

#24

Post by ComputerGuru » Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 8:45 AM UTC

I love how Mint's reply to Intuit says "Hey, we're actually growing faster than you think" and ends with an overt advertisement of Mint's services.

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

#25

Post by jacquesm » Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 9:24 AM UTC

sown wrote: post #10

I wonder if this was some kind of botched overture for a sort of partnership.

That happens more frequently than you think. I was once 'sued' by a F500 company for exactly that purpose, a 'softening up' round before negotiations.

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

#26

Post by sachinag » Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 9:26 AM UTC

ComputerGuru wrote: post #21

The reason Mint is doing so well is quite simple: it's so damn easy to use. I just signed up now, and I was expecting to have to go through a number of loops to get it to grab the data from my multiple bank accounts, but it was a breeze. Just another step in the sign-on procedure - truly great work on minimizing the number of people that default from linking their bank accounts. And the UI is goal-oriented with a dee…

Everyone, pay attention here. Mint doesn't have any technology. They're just an unbelievably well-designed front end for Yodlee.

"[T]he UI is goal-oriented with a deep understanding of common tasks people want". Is your site doing the same?

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

#27

Post by newmediaclay » Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 9:27 AM UTC

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.

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

#28

Post by SwellJoe » Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 9:50 AM UTC

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 I get into a conversation about a business I wish I'd started, Mint is the first one that comes to mind. It's such a huge market, and Intuit has failed so miserably to make the transition to the web--and if they ever admit that the web is a better way to solve this problem, they'll have to accept dramatically lower per-user revenue, which is something that very few companies have the balls to do. It's why the tech industry has massive churn every 10-20 years--market leaders get eaten from the bottom (mainframes by minis, minis by micros, etc. for example).

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

#29

Post by adsyoung » Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 10:48 AM UTC

So annoying we don't have mint in Australia I hate doing the finances manually.

Is anyone here able to describe how their interface to your bank account works in more detail? I haven't heard a great explanation of it.

Part of me is still amazed that many people have happily typed in their banking passwords.

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

#30

Post by snprbob86 » Fri, Feb 20, 2009, 10:54 AM UTC

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?

I caught an accidental double charge when checking my balances on my iPhone through mint's app while at work.

I use auto bill-pay, but the bill wasn't due for two weeks anyway.