Intuit - Innovation
Term Research Paper
Intuit, Inc.
Personal financial innovation on a global scale
We were both born in 1983, though we had other things in common. I was a small baby, and they were a small startup. Scott Cook was just a guy who wanted to help the average American balance their checkbook and manage day to day household finances on their PC.
One important (and different) thing Intuit has focused on when building their software, was that the forms should work and look like the paper forms people were used to. The idea that software would mirror real life functions, was relatively foreign to accounting software at the time, which mostly focused on only very large companies processing a lot of data. But to make the software marketable to the average Joe, they knew they had to use the same language. The first draft, Kwik-Chek, actually looked like a checkbook, even copying their own Wells-Fargo check registers, down to every line. They wanted it to be intuitive. In 1984 they launched Quicken.
In 1991 my little sister was born, and the competition for cuteness was on. Meanwhile, Intuit was facing its own version of sibling rivalry. That same year, Microsoft caught a whiff of Intuit’s success with quicken and launched Money. To keep customers coming back, Intuit offered a $15 rebate. To keep the pressure on high, Intuit went public in 1993, trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol INTU. The initial public offering was very successful and the proceeds were used to begin to diversify their product line.
In 1994, around the time I was developing my first crush on boy, Intuit was striking a unique deal with Microsoft. The companies agreed that Microsoft would purchase Intuit’s valuable creations. However instead of totally absorbing them, Bill Gates assured Intuit’s parents that they would allow them to run completely independently. Intuit company emails to employees included a list of "10 top reasons to get psyched about merger" that included pros such as: "Close-up
Intuit, Inc.
Personal financial innovation on a global scale
We were both born in 1983, though we had other things in common. I was a small baby, and they were a small startup. Scott Cook was just a guy who wanted to help the average American balance their checkbook and manage day to day household finances on their PC.
One important (and different) thing Intuit has focused on when building their software, was that the forms should work and look like the paper forms people were used to. The idea that software would mirror real life functions, was relatively foreign to accounting software at the time, which mostly focused on only very large companies processing a lot of data. But to make the software marketable to the average Joe, they knew they had to use the same language. The first draft, Kwik-Chek, actually looked like a checkbook, even copying their own Wells-Fargo check registers, down to every line. They wanted it to be intuitive. In 1984 they launched Quicken.
In 1991 my little sister was born, and the competition for cuteness was on. Meanwhile, Intuit was facing its own version of sibling rivalry. That same year, Microsoft caught a whiff of Intuit’s success with quicken and launched Money. To keep customers coming back, Intuit offered a $15 rebate. To keep the pressure on high, Intuit went public in 1993, trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol INTU. The initial public offering was very successful and the proceeds were used to begin to diversify their product line.
In 1994, around the time I was developing my first crush on boy, Intuit was striking a unique deal with Microsoft. The companies agreed that Microsoft would purchase Intuit’s valuable creations. However instead of totally absorbing them, Bill Gates assured Intuit’s parents that they would allow them to run completely independently. Intuit company emails to employees included a list of "10 top reasons to get psyched about merger" that included pros such as: "Close-up