Mint Sells to Intuit for $170 Million
Why is this such a great deal for Intuit? Fast Company explains:
“Mint’s apparently not begun to investigate the data-mining opportunities present in the recorded info on those 1.4 million users–a data set that’s got intrinsic value in its own right.”
Wow, that’s pretty bold-faced. To be fair, as a user of Mint.com I appreciated the fact that they had not begun to investigate the data-mining opportunities present in their users’ accounts.
So, the way I see it is this. Intuit paid $170 million for Mint. A lot of the value of Mint comes from its 1.4 million registered users. If you’re like me and you have a “thing” for Mint but not so much for Intuit, you would want to see Mint get the better end of the bargain here. There’s probably no better way to make sure this happens than to delete your account on Mint.
That way, Intuit will have paid a heck of a lot more money for a dwindling user base, so it will be as though Mint got paid more for delivering less! It’s like selling your house, and then hiring someone to break all the windows before the new owner moves in. You got paid more for something that’s now worth less! You win!
Oh, and don’t be surprised if you’re presented with this confidence-inspiring response when you delete your account. Cabel got it, and I got it as well:
Happy deleting!
UPDATE: Here’s Peter Merholz’ take on the acquisition: User Experience = $5 Million per Employee
UPDATE 2: Don’t miss Jason Fried’s glowing take, affectionately titled The Next Generation Bends Over
2 Comments
Well the privacy policy is the same. They anonymize the data and allow the data to researched for consumer spending trends, etc.
It’ll take something very foul (which I’m sure Intuit *can* do, but I’m hoping they don’t), before I lose all that data of mine that mint allows me to slice and dice and look at trends.
True. However, a policy is one thing. Intent, and a capacity to act on that intent, is another. Intent and capacity can change even while a privacy policy remains intact.
I was never a serious user of Mint, so while I mourn its loss and the hotness to my life it provided, it’s a small adjustment to once again live without.