I sat down with Imani Moise last week from the Wall St. Journal. She is a terrific writer who wrote an article diving in deep on the recent closing of Mint.com by Intuit. Her article focuses on why there is not a natural successor to Mint in the market today. While there are monetization issues present, there is a story on why Mint was able to break through and capture the imagination of a generation to understand their money. The brand was fun, educational, and part of a modern lifestyle to get the most out what every person had to work with, given their resources.

It was less of a budgeting app and more a lifestyle companion.

Mint had a clear vision – helping people do more with their money. This included an attractive an easy to use product – built by the amazing team of Aaron, Aaron, Val, David and others. It was also a really cool brand. We were the approachable friend who had their act together – the peer you would lean over and ask – “How can I get the most out of my money to live my best life?” In addition to beautiful design from Jason, we built an educational platform with the #1 personal finance blog – MintLife. The content entertained and gave context – sharing an enthusiasm with people how managing money was both fun and cool.

I think a big part of the lack of a true successor to Mint comes down to the brand. The current personal finance apps lack a passion and enthusiasm to share knowledge, teach each other, and make it part of your lifestyle. This was always at the core of our team. Donna, Lee and I made this the heart of our marketing. This drove the collective efforts of the entire team.

Stew