Intuit and Homestead join forces

Big news in the Homestead universe today!  We announced this afternoon that Homestead has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Intuit for a generous amount of cash.  You can read the standard-issue press release here.  It's expected to close early next year.

The backstory is a bit more interesting.

Ever since I started Homestead in 1997, I have kept two lists.  The first list is all the acquisition offers we have received over the years (it's nineteen long, not counting this one).  The second list is a "wish list" that contains companies I would actually consider selling our "baby" to; companies that have resonated with me and the Homestead philosophy of doing business over the span of my career (this list has four members).  Intuit is on the first list twice and, as you might guess, a member of the illustrious second list.

You have to understand that when you start a company in your bedroom because you don't want to work for "the man," it is quite exhilarating (and a bit amusing) the first time another company comes along and offers to pay you a lot of money for what you've created.  I've never intended to sell Homestead, but then again I've never intended not to sell it either.  It just hasn't been a primary focus.  It's much more fun to hire amazing employees, build great products, and delight the pants off of your customers.  In fact, you can ask my wife: getting an acquisition offer is a major distraction and usually knocks my world off of its axis for a few weeks until we eventually say no.

Saying no, even though we've done it a lot of times, is not a simple matter.  We have investors who have put millions into our company, and they deserve a rewarding and timely return.  We have employees who have spent many years laboring away, and they deserve to sock away some money in their kids' college funds, maybe upgrade from their 1200 square foot million-dollar Silicon Valley house (or buy one at all).  We have white boards full of product plans that don't see the light of day because of scarce resources.  We have 100's of thousands of business websites that are counting on us being around--and staying the best in the industry--for many years to come.

I have to weigh all of those factors (and consult with many folks) every time this happens, before I can give a response that I feel is fiducially and ethically responsible.  Nineteen times that calculus has resulted in a "no."  Last week it came out with a resounding "yes."

Here's why.  We don't get our kicks out of delivering financial returns for our shareholders (although it feels good, we think of it more as a responsibility than a thrill).  As I said above, our thrills come from employees, products and customers.  So if we can deliver a great return to our shareholders--while accelerating our dreams for employees, products and customers--an acquisition makes a ton of sense. 

Which brings us back to the second list.  A suitable acquiring company for Homestead has to be a place that we all can feel as strongly about as we do about Homestead.  It has to have a set of core values that matches the Homestead Creed.  It has to have a hiring policy similar to our "no jerks, no idiots" rule.  It has to believe in giving back to the community.  It really helps if we can keep our brand, our offices, our wacky traditions, our identity.  And we absolutely have to keep all of our people, and be able to maintain the sense of ownership and pride that we all feel today.

I'm happy to report that Intuit passed all of these tests with flying colors.  I'm 100% confident the merger between Intuit and Homestead is in the best interest of all 5 Priorities that Homestead's Creed spells out.  To our Shareholders (#5), we'll feel proud that we delivered for them as we bid them a fond farewell and begin serving different financial stakeholders.  To our Community (#4), we'll be announcing several fantastic initiatives in the coming months (stay tuned).  To our Customers (#3), you'll notice no changes (except a new privacy policy and a little "an Intuit company" logo under our name); however, we'll be rolling out more great Products (#2) even faster.  And finally, to our Employees (#1), you'll have to buckle your seat belts once again--this wild ride is only going to get more exciting in the years to come!

Oh, and the blog stays, too.

--jsk

Comments

[Casey Edwinson]

Well done Homestead! As a customer and former employee I hope this does not end the journey of the House but is just another chapter in its success. I also hope you continue to offer a great service with great support at a great price. Rock on… rock on!

[Matt Franklin]

Congratulations!

I will now redirect all of my QuickBooks tech support questions directly to a Homestead employee. :)

I'd imagine this will definitely help get Homestead products out to more people. You guys have some really, really talented employees, so I'm super happy to see their work get more exposure.

[Village Green]

Don't trip over your wealth on the way out of the building.

[Moni]

I'm hyped about the news. Will the prices increase?

[Kelle Arvay]

Congratulations on what sounds like a very promising merger. As far as cool new features can we start to put in our request now? (= I'm thinking a user friendly way to upload video or embed video from other sources. I know it can be done but while I play with PHP elsewhere, I still can't figure it out on Homestead. By the way I've been with you guys like forever...so maybe that will give my request a little push eh? (;

[Joshua]

I hope you made the right choice. I have been with you for about 5 or 6 years and own a lot to you. Your site builder helps to take web design to the common computer user. Our church has grown because of a website designed with site builder.I also built a website for another church and a site for youth. Don't let us down, okay?I pray that God will direct you in the right path.

[Stephanie Sullivan]

I am very excited for you, this seems like an amazing opportunity! I would have taken it. You have put your heart and soul into this company and it shows. I know of at least one company you have helped along the way (Driving Jacks)and we are eternally grateful that you were there to help us when no one else would. Your generosity will not be quickly forgotten.

I look forward to your future successes and future business adventures. Keep us updated, I love your blog.

[Paul Boisvert]

Congrats Justin to you and to all of Homestead's amazing employees that I personally took pride in working with for years. I knew you would only "sell up" and not "sell out". Looks to be the case here as you have described it. Best wishes, Paul

[Rich Pearson]

Congrats Justin and to all the Homestead employees. Great news, indeed!

[Robin Alsoffi]

as a fellow entrepreneur and homestead customer since 2001, i congratulate you and am sure that anyone of us who had the opportunity to make money and sell would have done the same thing in a new york minute. homestead just like our businesses is not a "not for profit" cause. you have been a very hands on ceo, have offered a great service to me since 2001 with excellent customer service and product. you have helped me make some awesome websites with your excellent product and i really wish the best for you and your homestead family. of course i also hope that intuit follows in your path and continues to make homestead a great resource for small business owners. best regards. robin alsoffi

[113.com ceo]

Congratulations! Absolutely delightful for the old timers along the Internet timeline, /ac.

[Jeffrey Johnson]

I am not excited at all about this news! This brings flashbacks from when I got the e-mail from PhotoSite (which I signed up for back when it was Homestead). In fact my heart dropped when I saw your e-mail because it looked almost the same as the e-mail I got way back when PhotoSite was bought.

I joined Homestead a little over 7 years ago and I must say I am very nervous about this move. I can just see the same thing happen that happened to PhotoSite (a few years down the road things change drastically or even close down).

This is really scary news. I am very disappointed.

[Barry Myers]

I can't say that I am either excited or disappointed about the transaction...I would say nervous and anxious is more like it. I have been with Homestead since it has been a FREE site and have spent COUNTLESS hours (well into the hundreds) creating a website that my customers have grown to love and rely on. Homestead has helped me create this customer loyalty. I guess my fear is how will this truly affect current Homestead customers...will we really see no change..in service, quality or pricing?? If not, great! If Homestead is losing creative control, pricing control, etc., however, this make me very nervous. Knowing what the truth really is to me is the key. Justin, are you telling the truth or being "fed" what to say??

[Jayne tingay]

This site supposed to be easy to use but im finding certain things wrong i would like to use my own header page not home steads own and its a rip off having to use google and having to pay for it when microsoft give free web site .

[Shreekumar Varma]

I have been with Homestead for about seven years, I think, and I've had no cause for complaint. In fact, I considered writing to you several times about how much I enjoyed my "home-stay". Even though my site isn't a commercial one, I have benefitted hugely because people from all over the world have accessed my writing and publishing information through it. My congratulations on the merger, and best wishes for better things.

[Brian Smith]

Congrats Justin!
-brian

[Greg Campbell]

Just repeating the congratulations above, as another former Homestead employee. I know how hard everyone's worked to reach this point, and I know there are good things to come from this partnership in the future.

[Denis Ryan]

Congratulations to all at Homestead and Intuit for that matter too! Have been here, building sites, since 2000 and look forward to many more years of service from the Team! Great tool and one I wouldn't be without! Thanks and congratulations to all again.

[Karen]

Congratulations, with reservations.. I hope this isn't another PhotoSite situation and we'll all be told in a few months that the Homestead program is being shut down! I also hope we don't see an increase in the price, since this will undoubtedly mean many people will say goodbye to Homestead, including me!
It always makes me nervous when company's start selling out to other company's..
Aren't you basically now working for "the man" again? I guess it's hard for me to understand why you would sell your "baby"... Why is money always more important than anything else? Just a thought.

[Tim]

Why is it that you require people to submit credit card info before signing up for the 'free' trial? This is a turn off, and feels manipulative and sneaky. Many similar companies I have checked out allow you to test the software without collecting credit card data. If you believe in your product, you shouldn;t have to do this. I abandoned the free trial.

[Deana]

Congratulations, Justin, on your business news. You are most deserving of this reward, and, to me, you are the finest example of what a CEO should be.....a great businessman who is accessible and responsive to his customers.
Now, if y'all can come up with a simple way fer us simpletons to add an internal search engine to our sites, life would be complete....(I have a school site and folks are always looking for someone).
Sincere good wishes for the future,
Deana
(a customer pretty well from the start).


www.theeclecticgallery.com

[Heather]

Congratulations! I joined Homestead in its infancy, one of the first questions I asked was, 'How long do you think you'll be around?'
Well you are still here, and looks like going from Strength to Strength!
Cant wait to see what happens next!

[Deb Wickwire]

Congratulations...I hope this will be a win-win. I've searched for a year to find a user-friendly, somewhat easy web design/hosting model, finally found you, and now maybe you will change or go away. Aaaagh. Please, please don't forget about your customers. Your success is due to all those positive votes. Good grief maybe my search isn't over yet. I hope it is. congratulations for your success
Deb Wickwire

[Cynthia]

"There is a season for everything" is not only my professional motto, it is my personal motto. As a customer and referring "cheerleader" of Homestead,I have only great comments about your products and service. No doubt, you've given careful consideration to this merger and I wish you and your employees the best as you enter this "new season" in your life!

[Ramon Ray]

JUSTIN congrats to you and YOUR TEAM!!!!!!

Ramon Ray, Technology Evangelist, Smallbiztechnology.com