Aaron Patzer
Aaron Patzer
Aaron Patzer is an internet entrepreneur and the founder of Mint.com, the financial management tool which was acquired by Intuit and has over 10 million users...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusinessman
CountryUnited States of America
ideas stealing
Tell anyone and everyone your idea without fear they're going to steal it.
anyone audience broader fear knew might prototype provide steal sure talked
After building most of Mint.com's prototype by myself, I talked to anyone and everyone I knew about Mint. It's counter-intuitive, because you might fear someone will steal your idea, but it's the only way to make connections, be sure you're on the right track, and provide a solution for an audience broader than yourself.
real people design
The other big factor in building trust quickly is site design quality. Mint.com has one of the best graphic designers ever (Jason Putorti) - he cares about every pixel, all the fonts, all the transparencies and effects. And that shows instantly. People do make judgments of trust on appearance - in the real world and online.
people recessions
Recessions are great because they unlock the best people.
business real people
People do make judgments of trust on appearance - in the real world and online.
mba add engineers
When valuing a startup, add $500k for every engineer, and subtract $250k for every MBA.
business giving-up doubt
It's okay to doubt yourself, it's okay to feel down; just never give up.
real entrepreneur want
Solve a real problem. You don't start a company because you want to be an entrepreneur or the fame and glory that comes along with it. You become an entrepreneur to solve a real problem.
hate world
Observe the world around you everything you do, and especially everything you hate to do.
real world problem
Solve a real problem and the world is yours.
both budgeting features forever hours loaded money powerful took user
Before Mint.com, I was a long-time user of 'Microsoft Money' and Intuit's 'Quicken.' Both were powerful tools, loaded with features and functionality around taxes, investment, budgeting - too feature-laden, in fact. They took hours to set up, forever to learn, and an hour a week to maintain.
belongs careful companies feature pick twitter url
Be careful not to start a company that really belongs as a feature of another company, like the 25 Twitter URL shortener companies out there. Pick a real problem that's here to stay.
developed five given patents present product save system technology user ways
At Mint, we developed five pending patents on our technology, ranging from categorization to the Ways to Save system that calculates how much a new financial product would save a user given their present financial situation.
across age business clients conduct country knew none web whom
At 16, I started a web development business and had clients from the Netherlands, Caribbean, and across the country - none of whom knew my age because I could conduct all my business with a phone, scanner, and the Internet.