Welcome to an episode of the Intuit Secrets of Success.

We are going to answer the question, How did Intuit's Scott Cook make it to the top? Creating a hit product was easy. What set him apart, was his skill at Financial and Business Cycle Management that got him past both Venture Capitalists and company busting recessions.

Scott Cook was in his early 20's when he and his wife, Signe, arrived in Silicon Valley at the peak of the software explosion of the early 1980's. Sitting at their kitchen table while Signe wrote out checks, Cook had an entrepreneur's classic "eureka!" moment: Why not create software that would handle household finances?

After that initial A-ha moment with his wife paying the bills, Scott set out to investigate other financial management products. He was amazed to find out that others had not solved all the problems the typical person encounters when managing their finances. The other programs were very slow and hard to use. They were all bad, but they still sold well! Intuit was the first software company that did consumer testing, and developed a product that the consumer really wanted to use!

When Scott sought funding for what would become a success story that helped to define the 80's and 90's, Scott ran into wall after wall after insurmountable wall. The hard part was being able to land enough Venture Capital to get it off the ground.

With some help from Tom LaFevre, Scott was able to obtain an initial investment seed money of $151,000. That was enough to keep the doors open, but he needed $3 million. At one point, Intuit almost had to face bankruptcy! But Scott kept at it, approaching bank after bank to help market the software. When Scott was at his lowest emotional point in business and only days away from quitting and giving up, out of nowhere, eight separate banks signed up with the company, and the rest is history!

Ultimately, Intuit broke through both financial and psychological barriers, barreling through recessions, with a stock price that went from a split-adjusted IPO day price of $3.33 to its peak of $90.00. Today, Intuit products such as Quicken dominate their markets, but the company continues to face challenges reminiscent of its first few years.

Recently, Scott was #320 on the Forbes 400 wealthiest people list, with a net worth of $1.1 billion. The secret to success?

Solid Gold Performance...

It shows up for all to see, when you have a Plan and you are Playing to Win. Regardless of the number of times Scott got turned down, there was no doubt, he was always in it — to win it.

How Did Intuit Become a Gold Mine? By Superior:

Financial...     Marketing...     Business Cycle Management...

Click on Function... Insert a Do It in your Strategic Plan... then Just DO IT!

Your Thoughts and Observations...

"Be dramatically willing to focus on the customer at all costs, even at the cost of obsoleting your own stuff." ~ Scott Cook