Girls In Tech

Driving out of foggy San Francisco and into the phenomena that is Bay Area weather, I begin removing my scarf and coat as I enter sunny Mountain View. Mint.com, acquired by Intuit, resides in the Intuit campus which is beautifully lined with greenery, fountains, and meandering pathways. Aaron Patzer, the only Founder of Mint is an unassuming 29 year old whose brains and hard work led him to be named as one of CNN Money’s six Money Heroes in the US in 2008, and Inc. magazine included him in a list of the Top 30 US Entrepreneurs under 30.

“Back in 2005, while using Quicken to catch up on his personal budgeting, Aaron Patzer realized that he was in for an afternoon of tedious accounting-type work: poring over his statements, filling in gaps in entries, and categorizing dozens of purchases. All this effort just to get to the answer to one, seemingly simple question: How much did I spend this month? And on what?

After a couple of hours, when Aaron couldn’t get that answer (and he holds Masters degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from Princeton and Duke) he started to wonder if there wasn’t a better way. So instead of finishing his Quicken update that day, he began thinking about building what would become Mint.com.” -Mint.com

In asking Aaron what his biggest obstacle is in obtaining users, Aaron notes two things. The first and possibly the most obvious is security. It was the first thing I questioned when asked to check out Mint.com. As security goes, Mint.com offers bank-level security, the inability to move money and the ability to register anonymously. Even more so, Mint’s alerts actually notify you of fraudulent transactions on all accounts. Click HERE to learn more about Mint’s security.

The second hindrance people may have in joining Mint.com is fear of the truth. Some of us, especially us ladies, do not want to be reminded of how much we spent at Nordstrom’s annual sale. Ignorance is bliss in many cases and although it may be a hard pill for some of us to swallow, in the long run it will prove to bring much more confidence in one’s spending and peace for what the future could hold.

Many of Mint user’s testimonies have uncovered a treasure chest of information. Some say they had NO idea that they spent that much at Starbucks, or that an old gym back in college was still charging them, or that a certain transaction with their bank results in a $10 fee, and even that their average monthly savings could have awarded them an extra 5% if they had set up an ING account. Mint not only helps analyze and manage your money, it also recommends different ways to save, invest, and build wealth as well.

Mint just launched a new feature that is right up our alley! As women, we have a number of fantasy items that we would love to run out and buy… but as smart, efficient, and cost conscious women, we do not do it. Many women today are smarter and savvier and are [hopefully] not running up their credit cards to buy Jimmy Choo shoes they can’t afford because they were inspired by Sex and the City. They can, however, use Mint.com to help them reach their Choo goals the right way!

At Mint.com you can set a goal, play with how much you’d need to set aside each month to reach your goal by different deadlines and monitor your success rates.

There’s no excuse, get on Mint.com and get in the know about your finances. Start planning for the things you really want in life… whether it’s the designer wedding dress of your dreams, the Land Rover that can’t fit in your San Francisco garage, or even simply a new set of cashmere for the upcoming winter. As a Girl in Tech, everything else is online, why wouldn’t your finances be too? It’s worth a go, check it out!

Tags: aaron patzer, intuit, jimmy choo, Mint.com, money, savings, Terra Khachooni
Posted in All Chapters, All Chapters, Girls In Tech, San Francisco | 1 Comment »

What do you call 300 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?

We have all heard the jokes about how lawyers are the scum of the earth, tearing apart the very moral fiber of a civilized society. Unfortunately this idea has permeated the minds of entrepreneurs so much so that it ends up costing them more in the long run. The idea that someone has to be protected if not represented legally on any and all business deals, documents even intellectual property is a concept not easily grasped by most, and even less so by the current Web 2.0 generation. The effect of this voracious use of the web whether for business or social networking, is that we are in a constant state of information sharing. While there are amazing advantages to this ability to communicate in real time, when it comes to privileged information, information that is sensitive in nature and may be at the very foundation of a business new entrepreneurs are spreading the news so to speak without taking the steps necessary to make sure that they are legally protected.

Why is this happening , and what are the consequences?

Let’s face it, everyone is struggling right now. I am writing this article while contemplating whether I actually am in dire need of the second iced latte or whether that $5 dollars would better serve me in the form of a martini later (definitely the martini). This thought process speaks to the very nature of the problem, money. The idea that startups actually spend money no matter how diminutive on a document as simple as a non-compete/non-disclosure agreement is incomprehensible. People think, “Why do I need to spend money on legal when I’m just showing friends and family?” Or, “I don’t have much to spend, I want every penny to go towards the idea or the product fabrication itself.” This, my friends, is the fundamental difference between an entrepreneur and a savvy businessperson.

So take this as my first tip of many more to come: If you have a unique concept, a developing idea, the next big thing, protect it. Spend a few hundred dollars to make sure that people you reach out to whether for funding or just for advice can’t turn around and rip you off. It happens more then you know.

Tags: intellectual property, legal, money, protect
Posted in Los Angeles | 1 Comment »

After watching the stock market today, you can’t help but to feel a bit of panic. Although, it did recover quite a bit towards the end of the closing bell, regardless this year-to-date the market has dropped almost 40%. 

Silicon Valley has never been a place to throw in the towel. Although VC firms like Sequoia Capital are ‘sounding the alarm’ for what could be the worst economic downturn in years. However, when we think back to the 2000 dot com crash, not the same situation, but it certainly applies, what occurred was a reality check and it helped weed out the not-so-smart ideas and that was good. Years after 9/11, technology start-ups and innovations from existing companies like Apple helped pull the country back to life. 

So, when all the news across Silicon Valley is that VC investment is falling off, investment money drying up, is this really the case? Not necessarily. You see, the cost of starting up a tech company has dropped tremendously. Whereas a few years ago it might have taken $1 million to launch a company, now it may cost $100,000. It will be easier for wealthy individuals, angel investors to fund companies. 

Obviously, the country needs to make sure there is money to build new technologies and start companies. Yes, we do need $700 billion to make sure the economy is functioning. However, that’s about now, how about our future? A very small portion of that money could go a long way in creating breakthroughs and companies to renew the country. David Ewing Duncan, contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio, wrote a great article regarding this matter – Investing In Our Future – and that’s what we need to do.

Tags: breakthroughs, country, economy, hope, investment, money, renew, start-ups, tech, VC
Posted in Los Angeles, San Francisco | 17 Comments »