Intuit Developer Case Study: Knowify
Intuit 開發者案例研究：Knowify

Based in New York 總部位於紐約

Employees 8 – 10 員工 8 – 10

Specialists in Construction management tools
施工管理工具專家

Founded 2012 成立於2012年

Published on QuickBooks App Store 2015
2015 年在 QuickBooks 應用程式商店發布

Our Story 我們的故事

This is a story of how a start-up with just eight employees created an app that has helped hundreds of customers and counting.
這是一個故事，講述了一家只有八名員工的新創公司如何創建一款應用程序，該應用程式已經幫助了數百名客戶，而且還在增加。

It’s also a story about harnessing the collective support of two powerhouses in the world of software development: Intuit Developer and Lighter Capital.
這也是一個關於利用軟體開發領域兩大巨頭 Intuit Developer 和 Lighter Capital 集體支持的故事。

Their partnership allows developers to focus their time and energy on providing the small business solutions their customers need, rather than focusing extensively on funding and cashflow.
他們的合作夥伴關係使開發人員能夠將時間和精力集中在提供客戶所需的小型企業解決方案上，而不是廣泛關注資金和現金流。

Let’s first chart the journey that Knowify has taken to get where they are today.
讓我們先回顧一下 Knowify 取得今天成就的歷程。

Marc Visent and Daniel de Roulet founded the company in 2012. Marc is from Andorra, a tiny country between Spain and France with almost 80,000 citizens. He traveled to the U.S. to study, earning his MBA from NYU. Right after graduation, he met Daniel, who earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Columbia University in New York City.
Marc Visent 和 Daniel de Roulet 於 2012 年創立了該公司。 Marc 來自安道爾，這是西班牙和法國之間的一個小國，擁有近 80,000 名公民。他前往美國學習，並獲得紐約大學 MBA 學位。畢業後，他遇到了丹尼爾，後者在紐約哥倫比亞大學獲得了經濟學學士學位。

“Dan had this idea. He would love to help small businesses in their growth stage,” Marc says. “He wanted to build a super simple platform and focus on professional firms like engineers, lawyers, interior designers, and help them get organized in the office.”
「丹有這個想法。他很樂意幫助處於成長階段的小企業，」馬克說。 “他想建立一個超級簡單的平台，專注於工程師、律師、室內設計師等專業公司，並幫助他們在辦公室裡組織起來。”

For these types of businesses, growth brings added complexity to the office, from hiring more workers to invoicing clients. The focus quickly shifts to office organization rather than customer service, which must remain a top priority for businesses in these verticals to be successful.
對於這些類型的企業來說，成長為辦公室帶來了更多的複雜性，從僱用更多員工到為客戶開立發票。重點很快轉移到辦公室組織而不是客戶服務，而客戶服務必須仍然是這些垂直行業企業成功的首要任務。

To help solve this, Marc and Daniel began building office management software. It took about a year and a half, after which they had different companies try the software. The feedback?
為了幫助解決這個問題，馬克和丹尼爾開始建立辦公室管理軟體。大約花了一年半的時間，之後他們讓不同的公司嘗試了該軟體。回饋?

“They all had a way of doing what our software provided by pulling together multiple different tools. So, our software was appealing, but not super appealing. However, as we were marketing to these people, a bunch of small construction companies that we weren’t targeting started to reach out,” Marc says.
「他們都有辦法透過將多種不同的工具組合在一起來完成我們軟體提供的功能。所以，我們的軟體很有吸引力，但不是超級有吸引力。然而，當我們向這些人進行行銷時，一些我們沒有瞄準的小型建築公司開始伸出援手，」馬克說。

For years, the construction industry has relied on pen and paper and Excel spreadsheets to manage their invoicing, bids, change orders, contracts, time cards, project schedules, and more. Marc and Daniel realized they had built a simple, affordable, easy-to-use, secure, and cloud-based solution for the construction industry.
多年來，建築業一直依靠紙筆和 Excel 電子表格來管理發票、投標、變更單、合約、考勤卡、專案進度表等。 Marc 和 Daniel 意識到他們已經為建築業建立了一個簡單、經濟實惠、易於使用、安全且基於雲端的解決方案。

“In 2015, we relaunched Knowify as Knowify for Contractors. At the same time, we went to Intuit’s QuickBooks Connect event. Accountants immediately bought the idea of creating a super simple platform for contractors,” Marc says.
「2015 年，我們重新推出了 Knowify，更名為 Knowify for Contractors。同時，我們也參加了 Intuit 的 QuickBooks Connect 活動。會計師們立即接受了為承包商創建一個超級簡單平台的想法，」馬克說。

Commercial subs and residential contractors—those who have multiple jobs and employees working over multiple days—have found success using Knowify.
商業分包商和住宅承包商（那些從事多項工作且員工工作多天的人）已經使用 Knowify 取得了成功。

“We want to have people save time in the office. We want to help them, and we want them to not hate their jobs,” Marc says.
「我們希望人們節省在辦公室的時間。我們想幫助他們，我們希望他們不要討厭自己的工作，」馬克說。

Their tagline: “Know Your Business. Grow Your Business.”
他們的口號是：「了解你的業務。拓展您的業務。

“In the industry, so many are trying to build software for each of these trades individually—software for roofers, software for plumbers. The thing is, in the office, they all look alike. That’s where we try to help them,” Marc says.
「在產業中，很多人都在嘗試為每個產業單獨建立軟體——屋頂工人的軟體、水管工的軟體。問題是，在辦公室裡，他們看起來都很相似。這就是我們試圖幫助他們的地方，」馬克說。

Another thing contractors have in common? Using QuickBooks Online as their accounting software.
承包商的另一個共同點是什麼？使用 QuickBooks Online 作為他們的會計軟體。

The Right Dev Tools: Intuit’s tools and platform ready and waiting for app developers
正確的開發工具：Intuit 的工具和平台已準備就緒，等待應用程式開發人員

“I think 85% of the market was using QuickBooks,” Marc says.
「我認為 85% 的市場都在使用 QuickBooks，」Marc 說。

Integrating with QuickBooks Online, the leading accounting software for small businesses, was a “no brainer” for the founders of Knowify.
對於 Knowify 的創辦人來說，與領先的小型企業會計軟體 QuickBooks Online 整合是「理所當然」的事情。

“It’s been absolutely great,” Marc says. “It’s one of our main avenues of leads and our happiest customers are those who actually join QuickBooks and Knowify.”
「這真是太棒了，」馬克說。 “這是我們獲得潛在客戶的主要途徑之一，我們最滿意的客戶是那些真正加入 QuickBooks 和 Knowify 的客戶。”

Knowify customers can sign up for QuickBooks quickly. With the integration, Knowify automatically imports relevant data from QuickBooks and, as they note on Apps.com, “Knowify keeps jobs, clients, vendors and items in sync bi-directionally.”
Knowify 客戶可以快速註冊 QuickBooks。透過集成，Knowify 會自動從 QuickBooks 導入相關數據，正如他們在 Apps.com 上指出的那樣，“Knowify 讓工作、客戶、供應商和專案保持雙向同步。”

Partnering with Intuit has been a great experience for Marc and Daniel. Even though they joined Apps.com after they had already developed their app, they’ve benefitted from Intuit’s ready-made tools and platform.
對 Marc 和 Daniel 來說，與 Intuit 合作是一次很棒的體驗。儘管他們在開發應用程式後才加入 Apps.com，但他們仍然受益於 Intuit 的現成工具和平台。

“They [Intuit] have always been very helpful, like helping us with the technical side. They obviously have a very strong API that we use. We’ve had a very good experience,” Marc says. “Whenever we had an issue, we’d connect with their team. They’ve always had people who would reach out within 24 hours. They have always been able to help us.”
「他們 [Intuit] 一直都非常有幫助，例如在技術方面幫助我們。顯然他們有我們使用的非常強大的 API。我們獲得了非常好的體驗，」馬克說。 「每當我們遇到問題時，我們都會與他們的團隊聯繫。他們總是有人會在 24 小時內與我們聯繫。他們總是能夠幫助我們。

Lighter Capital, a company that provides funding to early-stage tech entrepreneurs through revenue-based financing, has also had a great experience partnering with Intuit.
Lighter Capital 是一家透過以收入為基礎的融資向早期科技創業家提供資金的公司，它也與 Intuit 有著豐富的合作經驗。

They joined Intuit Developer to offer financial assistance to the developers who were building QBO integrations; this partnership was announced at QuickBooks Connect in November 2017.
他們加入 Intuit Developer，為建構 QBO 整合的開發人員提供財務援助；這項合作關係於 2017 年 11 月在 QuickBooks Connect 上宣布。

“The thing we love is that Intuit is wanting to support their developers,” Lighter Capital’s Chief Investment Officer Allen Johnson says.
Lighter Capital 的首席投資長艾倫·約翰遜 (Allen Johnson) 表示：“我們喜歡的一點是，Intuit 希望支持他們的開發商。”

He points out that Intuit is building an ecosystem that benefits QuickBooks customers and provides a greater suite of products; and Lighter Capital wanted to be a part of it.
他指出，Intuit 正在建立一個生態系統，使 QuickBooks 客戶受益，並提供更豐富的產品套件； Lighter Capital 希望成為其中的一部分。

“You look at these amazing companies that are being built, but there’s a lack of funding for them at these respective stages. We can help fuel that ecosystem,” Allen says.
「你看看這些正在建立的令人驚嘆的公司，但它們在各個階段都缺乏資金。我們可以幫助推動這個生態系統，」艾倫說。

Knowify decided to take advantage of this opportunity and applied for funding.
Knowify 決定利用這個機會並申請資金。

“Funding is one of those super interesting and totally exhausting parts of being a startup,” Marc says. “We were able to grow very nicely with our own resources, but at some point, we realized we had so many leads, so many contractors knocking on our door saying we need help, that we couldn’t help them.”
「融資是新創公司最有趣但又讓人筋疲力盡的部分之一，」馬克說。 「我們能夠利用自己的資源取得很好的發展，但在某些時候，我們意識到我們有太多的線索，太多的承包商來敲我們的門說我們需要幫助，但我們無法幫助他們。 」

With Lighter Capital, Marc was able to get the funding they needed quickly. “They were faster making the decision than we were in providing the data. It was unbelievable. It was absolutely great. I was able to focus on what’s important for our customers, which is actually Knowify.”
借助 Lighter Capital，馬克能夠快速獲得所需的資金。 「他們做出決定的速度比我們提供數據的速度要快。這太令人難以置信了。這絕對是太棒了。我能夠專注於對我們的客戶來說重要的事情，這實際上就是 Knowify。

He goes on, “They [Lighter Capital] understand the business very well. They understand we need time to focus on the technology we’re building for our customers.”
他繼續說道，「他們（Lighter Capital）非常了解這項業務。他們明白我們需要時間專注於為客戶建立的技術。

Lighter Capital’s funding model, which caps returns and has flexible payments matching the fluctuations of your business, takes the pressure off developers who often live their whole lives building the company. The fear of losing everything is alleviated. This nurtures a better work environment and is more sustainable in the long run.
Lighter Capital 的融資模式限制了回報，並根據您的業務波動提供靈活的付款方式，減輕了通常一生都在建立公司的開發商的壓力。失去一切的恐懼減輕了。這營造了更好的工作環境，長遠來看也更具永續性。

As a debt facility, they also allow developers like Knowify to use the funds as they see fit.
作為債務工具，它們還允許像 Knowify 這樣的開發商以他們認為合適的方式使用這些資金。

“We don’t require them to show proof of where funds go. We want to see them apply it for growth capital,” Allen says. “Whatever that thing is right for the business, and it goes to growing the business, then we’re supportive of that. We’re not dictating where the money should go.”
「我們不要求他們出示資金去向的證據。我們希望看到他們將其應用於成長資本，」艾倫說。 「無論什麼事情對企業來說是正確的，並且有助於業務發展，那麼我們都會支持。我們不會規定錢應該去哪裡。

He also says, “We believe we’ve created a new funding pathway for early-stage tech entrepreneurs. Our model has been on focusing on those earlier-stage companies, agnostic of the cap table—if they have equity investors or angel investors, we’re happy to help out where we can. We’ll fund companies as early as 12 months of operations.”
他也表示：「我們相信我們已經為早期科技創業家創造了一條新的融資途徑。我們的模式一直專注於那些處於早期階段的公司，與股權結構表無關——如果他們有股權投資者或天使投資者，我們很樂意提供力所能及的幫助。我們最早將為營運 12 個月的公司提供資金。

For Intuit Developer, Lighter Capital’s focus on helping start-ups meshes with their own desire to offer full-service support to their developers. And their partnership has impacted Knowify’s success.
對於 Intuit Developer 來說，Lighter Capital 專注於幫助新創企業，這與他們為開發人員提供全方位服務支援的願望相吻合。他們的合作關係影響了 Knowify 的成功。

Lighter Capital chose Knowify to be a recipient of their funding based on data-driven criteria and because, according to Allen, “They’re great operators, they’re great entrepreneurs. They did an amazing job of creating the business.”
Lighter Capital 根據數據驅動的標準選擇 Knowify 作為其資金接收者，因為艾倫表示，「他們是偉大的營運商，他們是偉大的企業家。他們在創建業務方面做得非常出色。

As a non-dilutive funder, Lighter Capital provides revenue-based funding to their customers. Unlike angel investors or venture capitalists, they don’t require a seat on the board, nor do they take equity or require personal guarantees. They’ll work with you as you scale, letting you run your business.
作為非稀釋性資助者，Lighter Capital 為其客戶提供基於收入的資金。與天使投資者或創投家不同，他們不需要在董事會中佔有一席之地，也不持有股權或要求個人擔保。當您擴大規模時，他們將與您合作，讓您經營自己的業務。

“I feel this is the first part of the funding because I believe that our relationship with Lighter Capital will go beyond this first round of funding,” Marc says.
「我覺得這是融資的第一部分，因為我相信我們與 Lighter Capital 的關係將超越第一輪融資，」Marc 說。

Lighter Capital’s funds allowed Knowify to hire a new customer support employee. The rest of the funds are being applied to growth initiatives, such as attending a few trade shows like QuickBooks Connect and increasing brand awareness.
Lighter Capital 的資金使 Knowify 能夠僱用一名新的客戶來支援員工。其餘資金將用於成長計劃，例如參加 QuickBooks Connect 等一些貿易展以及提高品牌知名度。

QuickBooks App Store: Where developers go to be noticed
QuickBooks App Store：開發者受到關注的地方

Apps.com has also brought Knowify to the attention of accountants, some of whom were the first to recognize the app as a great way to help their contractor clients organize their tax receipts and papers.
Apps.com 也讓 Knowify 引起了會計師的注意，其中一些會計師首先認識到該應用程式是幫助承包商客戶整理稅單和文件的好方法。

“20 to 25% of our customers come from accountants,” Marc says.
「我們 20% 到 25% 的客戶來自會計師，」Marc 說。

With over 4.2 million subscribers, QuickBooks Online puts its published apps in front of businesses that can forge long-term relationships with you and your ongoing service. Apps.com provides a place where developers and their apps will be seen. And Knowify has been seen.
QuickBooks Online 擁有超過 420 萬訂閱者，將其發布的應用程式提供給可以與您和您的持續服務建立長期關係的企業。 Apps.com 提供了一個展示開發人員及其應用程式的地方。並且已經看到了Knowify。

Here’s one of their five-star Apps.com reviews titled, “I’d snuggle with it, if I could”:
這是他們在 Apps.com 上的一篇五星級評論，標題為“如果可以的話，我會依偎在它身邊”：

“As a contractor’s daughter, I have a background on what it takes to run a contracting business. As a leading QBO trainer and consultant, I also know where QBO can fall short in serving contractors. I’m happy to have found Knowify, which does a really nice job of providing the job costing and contract management tools that contractors need, but without making it too complicated for them to actually run. Recommended!”
「身為承包商的女兒，我了解如何經營承包業務。作為領先的 QBO 培訓師和顧問，我也知道 QBO 在為承包商提供服務方面存在哪些不足之處。我很高興找到 Knowify，它在提供承包商所需的作業成本核算和合約管理工具方面做得非常好，但又不會讓他們實際運作起來太複雜。受到推崇的！

Marketing with Intuit: The help continues
與 Intuit 進行行銷：幫助仍在繼續

Intuit’s support of their developer ecosystem extends from development to marketing.
Intuit 對開發者生態系統的支援從開發延伸到行銷。

“They have helped us with the marketing side. They review your materials and always try to give you some feedback,” Marc says. “They [Intuit Developer] are really growing and have really good sources. You can find answers to any questions and if you can’t, Intuit will help you find it.”
「他們在行銷方面為我們提供了幫助。他們會審查你的材料並總是試圖給你一些回饋，」馬克說。 「他們 [Intuit Developer] 確實在成長，並且擁有非常好的資源。您可以找到任何問題的答案，如果找不到，Intuit 將幫助您找到答案。

“We want to have people save time in the office. We want to help them, and we want them to not hate their jobs.”
「我們希望人們節省在辦公室的時間。我們想幫助他們，我們希望他們不要討厭自己的工作。

Knowify has the same customer service philosophy as both Intuit and Lighter Capital, and Marc and Daniel are excited for their next improvement steps.
Knowify 與 Intuit 和 Lighter Capital 有著相同的客戶服務理念，Marc 和 Daniel 對他們接下來的改進步驟感到興奮。

“We recently launched Knowify 3.0. Over the first three years, we put together this platform with all the tools that contractors already knew. We help create invoices, proposals, budgets, help you track labor and materials—these are all things they were doing before, maybe on paper, maybe on spreadsheet. Maybe not that efficiently, but they were doing it,” Marc says. “With 3.0, it starts with a new job board that gives you insights into your business. We want to take it one step further and give you the business intelligence you already have but maybe don’t see.”
「我們最近推出了 Knowify 3.0。在最初的三年裡，我們將這個平台與承包商已知的所有工具整合在一起。我們幫助創建發票、提案、預算，幫助您追蹤人工和材料——這些都是他們以前做過的事情，可能在紙上，也可能在電子表格上。也許效率不高，但他們正在這樣做，」馬克說。 「在 3.0 中，它從一個新的職位委員會開始，讓您深入了解自己的業務。我們希望更進一步，為您提供您已經擁有但可能看不到的商業智慧。

“We don’t want to show them a bunch of crazy stats. It gives them the info they need. You log into Knowify, and in one simple page, you can see the status of all your jobs, see if there are any issues, and take action.”
「我們不想向他們展示一堆瘋狂的統計數據。它為他們提供了所需的資訊。你登入Knowify，在一個簡單的頁面中，你可以看到所有工作的狀態，看看是否有任何問題，並採取行動。

For Marc and Daniel, their decision to partner with Intuit was the right one.
對 Marc 和 Daniel 來說，他們與 Intuit 合作的決定是正確的。

“We’re very happy that we started working with Intuit three years ago. Seeing this Intuit fund with Lighter Capital, having the opportunity to apply, and getting the funds through them—I think it’s been an awesome story,” Marc states. “It really makes us happy to be part of this journey, helping new startups start to grow. That’s why we got started, and now Intuit Developer is doing it for us. It’s come full circle.”
「我們很高興三年前開始與 Intuit 合作。看到 Intuit 基金與 Lighter Capital 合作，有機會申請並透過他們獲得資金——我認為這是一個很棒的故事，」Marc 說。 「我們很高興能夠參與這趟旅程，幫助新的新創公司開始成長。這就是我們開始的原因，現在 Intuit Developer 正在為我們做這件事。一切又回到了原點。