Thousands of Entrepreneurs from All 50 States Compete for Cash to Grow Their Business

Intuit’s Small Business United Grant Competition Offers Chance to Win Up to $30,000

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--What does a bead store in New Jersey have in common with an art gallery in Georgia, or a towing company in Utah? They are all contenders to win up to $30,000 in business grants, plus free software and services from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU).

Entrepreneurs from far and wide are sharing stories about their successes and challenges as part of Intuit’s Small Business United Grant Competition. All are competing to win cash to give their business a boost in a time when purse strings are tight. In just eight weeks, the competition attracted more than 1,600 stories, which can be viewed at www.smallbusinessunited.com.

Who’s entering and what’s on their minds?

• Entrepreneurs in all 50 United States submitted entries.
• California leads the pack with the most entries, with Florida, Texas, New York and Illinois rounding out the top five.
• Almost half the stories focus on starting a business.
• Other popular topics include personal triumphs or overcoming adversity, and getting and taking care of customers.
• The submissions come from a variety of industries, with retail and e-commerce, general service and non-profit and education-related businesses being the most common.

Entries still being accepted

The Small Business United Grant Competition remains open for submissions until April 24. A panel of judges will evaluate 50 finalists, based on quality, creativity and ratings from the public. The ratings will account for 40 percent of the overall score and are based on whether the stories are inspiring, useful or funny.

Judges will then select four first-prize winners, who will each receive $10,000, plus $2,500 worth of Intuit products in addition to their finalist grants and awards. The grand prize winner will receive $25,000 and $2,500 worth of Intuit products and services. All winners will be announced in June.

The competition is part of Intuit’s Small Business United initiative, launched earlier this year. Nearly 1 million entrepreneurs have visited Intuit’s Small Business Web site to seek advice from their peers and to take advantage of the campaign’s other offerings, which include free Intuit products and services.

Quick links:

• Share your own story: http://smallbusiness.intuit.com/small-business/small-business-grant.jsp
• Read and rate stories: http://community.intuit.com/contests?vtid=cltg
• Watch the Small Business United video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJHeP37m5Rc

Resources:

• Intuit Press Room: http://about.intuit.com/about_intuit/press_room/press_kit/smallbusinessunited/
• Intuit on Twitter: http://twitter.com/intuit

About Intuit Small Business United Campaign

Intuit’s Small Business United campaign is designed to bring America’s entrepreneurs together and to fuel their growth by providing free products, services and resources that help them attract customers, save money and make money. Visit www.smallbusinessunited.com for more information about the initiative, free business tools and products from Intuit and the chance to win up to $30,000 through the Small Business United business grant competition.

About Intuit Inc.

Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax® software, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation software suites for professional accountants. The company's financial institutions division, anchored by Digital Insight, provides on-demand banking services to help banks and credit unions serve businesses and consumers with innovative solutions.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.1 billion in its fiscal year 2008. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.

Intuit, the Intuit logo and QuickBooks, among others, are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit Inc. in the United States and other countries.