Intuit Inc. (INTU) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, everybody, and welcome. Welcome to this fireside chat sponsor by Intuit QuickBooks. I am Nate Burleson. This is sponsored by QuickBooks and MailChimp. Now some of you may know me as a former NFL athlete. I've hosted to CBS Morning, studio analyst for NFL today, also a host of NFL Slimetime on Nickelodeon, but I'm also the CEO of a few small businesses. And I know the courage it takes to commit to that entrepreneurial journey, which is not easy, and we are going to touch on that from many perspectives. I'm joined right now by a force of power, one of the most talented individuals in the business of women who are showing incredible coverage forging her own path in the entertainment world. She's a CEO of HOORAE Media. She is a talented writer, producer. She is a star in her own right award-winning television series Insecure, which we all love. And many of her films and projects that we recognize her from, she has created opportunities, not just for herself, but for black creatives in front of and behind the camera. Please, give a big time welcome to one of the most talented individuals to grace our presence, Issa Rae in the building.

Thank you so much, Nate. Thank you. Hello, everybody. I can't see. Really happy to be here.

Well, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us, and we're going to jump right into it. Issa and I, we're going to be talking about how to walk that entrepreneur's pad, which we know personally, how difficult that can be and what it takes to hit the summit of success. And we know that there will be harsh ships along the way, and we will talk about a few of those that we have dealt with. Today is the first day of Black History Month, as we all know, in the United States and also in Canada. We want to take a closer look at the challenges that Black home businesses have. Also, QuickBooks just commissioned a survey of 1,500 Black businesses in Black Business owners in U.S. and Canada and will be sharing helpful insights along the way. You can also find the survey and its resources in the section of the site below the video player. Among articles, videos and other free resources that the QuickBooks' blog can help start and run and grow your business. Now of course, we want to welcome in all of the small business owners and entrepreneurs watching today. Many of you have submitted questions during the registration. And we're going to bring some of the small business owners to ask some of these questions in just a bit, which is great. We're really excited about that. If you have any questions for myself or Issa, about being entrepreneur, drop those in the chat, and we might feature them live during the show. You can also join the conversation on your favorite social media platform using the hashtags ActsOfCourage and also BlackHistoryMonth. Now, we must acknowledge that -- I hate to say it, but like we've seen before, there has been tragedy in this country. I think we've all witnessed what has happened to Tyrie Nickels. And first and foremost, thoughts to the Nickels' family and friends and everybody involved. But it is tragic, and we all have dealt with trauma. So first and foremost, thank you for joining us. We don't want to just jump right into this without acknowledging some of the things that we have all seen. So as we say that, we recognize when it comes to business and what happens outside of, there are challenges that we deal with, and we thank you for joining us.

So let's jump right into it. Issa, I want to start with a few questions about how you have achieved so much in both, the creative space but also as a leader, not just in front of the camera but on the production side? Did you always know that you wanted to run your business? Or was it something that just evolved over time as you had more demands creatively?

It's been a little bit of both. First of all, Happy Black History Month. [indiscernible] But no, it's been a little bit of both. Since I was little girl, my mom used to always say that I was bossy, and I wanted to have a business, like I wanted to have a briefcase. I didn't know what any of that meant, but I just wanted to be official in some capacity. And then the creative work hit me, and I realized I'd love to write, I love to tell stories. And when I really started to pursue writing and skill-making in general and started to create web series, I recognized one, how challenging it is to build something from the ground up; and two, that I needed people to help.  So the idea of being an entrepreneur always been scary because it feels so lonely and it feels so low. And so the need to run a business to support my creative endeavors because you'll be broke for a long time if you're just pursuing like you don't make money off of that. So to make -- to find a way to make money off of that, it's -- to maintain a living was essential for me. And so as I started to pursue that more seriously. I recognized that I need to find a way to support my self and kind of create it into the business.

What would you say was your first entrepreneurial success?

I think it's twofolds. One, I'm very open about the fact that I get help when I need help. And so when I felt like I had a solid team, big things change for me. So being able to find people to assist me that I was also hopefully assisting in their journeys was the first entrepreneurial success. And then the second one is when we're able to monetize the [indiscernible] that came about from an idea from a colleague who was just like, "We need to do a college story." People are watching us on the internet, but there's demand for people to see you, the show in person, so we should do screenings and have colleges invite us. And we were very simple minded, I would say, well, the idea was great. We're like, we'll just charge them $100 and [indiscernible] them board to bring us to their school and put it out there. And so [indiscernible], 50 to 100 schools hit us up to be like about come out, come out, come out. And to me, I'm like "Wow, [indiscernible] $100 [indiscernible] from all these goods, we'll sell merch there, all those things. And then increasingly, I like to probably, unfortunately, pounded like the 20th or 30th school. This woman sat with me and was like "Baby, you're charging $100. We just paid this poet at least $5,000, $10,000 to come out, like that's the kind of stuff that you need to be charging." And so I was felt duped, but that was the way in and as colleges were paying us to screen the episodes which was great publicity. And then I could now afford to live and afford to make more episodes because I had a means of income from these tours. So that was a huge entrepreneurial success and it showed me what was possible.

I think that's a great lesson in your transparency, which is something that you've always been is very transparent about the ups and downs is those aha moments where you realize like, damn, I'm worth more than this or my value has changed, and I need to charge more. Oftentimes, we are first starting any business, we have these issues with our own self-reflection when we go through the states. We're like, "Oh, man, am I good at this? Are these mistakes a reflection of who I am?" But that's just part of the journey, like you're going to take some [indiscernible]. You're going to take some Ls. For me, I would think my first entrepreneurial success was creating a brand within the brand. I was drafted in 2003 to the Minnesota Vikings. And the one thing that the NFL does is they make you believe that that's the most important thing in the world. That's why players love the game, and they'll run to a brick wall for their team. I bleed for these colors, you are all those things. You walk into this black enrollment is like this new family that you got to ride or die for. And it works. Guys give everything to the game. But on the flip side, it's like a gift and a curse because you invest so much into just football, you forget about all these things that you want to do. I went into college as this individual that wanted to create businesses, that wanted to go into TV, that wanted to write poetry, that wanted to go on to music. And I put all of those things on the shelf because the NFL was like, "Na, na, na, chill! While you're with us, you're with us. This is exclusive." I think now [indiscernible] sports has changed because there's so many talented individuals that are doing stuff off the court, off the field, off the [indiscernible], et cetera. But for me, I think it was creating a brand within the brand. The first time I launched a clothing line while I was playing or opened a restaurant while I was playing or started to help guys invest their money and lost the investment firm for athletes, that's when I realize, okay, I can do multiple things. We oftentimes look in the mirror and we tell ourselves that we're magical. Black people were magical, we can do it all. But then as soon as somebody tells you, you have to do one thing, you're like, "Oh, maybe they're right." I realize that after I played in the league for 8 or 9 years, the light at the end of the tunnel was getting brighter and brighter. And as soon as they drop me off after my career is over, I better have a plan B, C and all the way to Z. So for me, it was understanding that no matter how much I am invested in one thing, I can still diversify my interest because I'm trying to throw darts at the dart board. And if I had a bull's eye more than once, that means I can have different streams of revenue once I'm done playing. Okay. So according to the new QuickBooks survey, 86% of Black businesses, they feel that they're judged more critically than non-Black businesses and 82% said they code switch or act differently to avoid being stereotyped. Issa, how do you approach both of these types of pressures?

I mean I think acknowledging them is obviously essential. I'm a Black consumer. So I know my mentality. I generally operate with wanting to support, and that's the mentality of my friends, my family will always go in, wanting to like yes, they're Black, I want to support this, of course, I want to support. And then if one thing will go wrong, you'll be like, oh, that's a Black business. So knowing that play out, I'm very much [indiscernible] that we do have to go above and beyond, and we have to be super transparent in our journeys because people generally want to support us, like that is, without question, I hear that all the time. I just -- we don't support our own, no. We have -- White people have a mentality that we want us to succeed, and I operate from that optimism and that knowledge. And so I never want to disappoint us. And so like there's never -- I never have a too good mentality, I always want to please us. And so like with our approach, we just have to be super tight because we're -- all eyes are on us. And of course, we know that we often have to lead, by example, we have to be the super example for many, and I don't take that lightly. But it's not anything I shy away from. I want to exceed expectations. I want to prove people wrong like that is what motivates me generally.

You're spot on. The idea of code switching, it's something that's a high topic in any space. And I've always thought that unless you recognize the codes, you'll never know if you're switching enough. And unless you identify what your voice is, you'll never know if you're being authentic or not. Or you don't even know if you're conforming. And somebody from the outside might see you and be like, "Why won't you be yourself?" I have 2 examples of that. When I first got into TV, I was a former player. And I had these dreams of doing entertainment and politics, world issues, traveling all over the country, speaking. But it's a box they put me in -- it's like, oh, you're [indiscernible], talk about [indiscernible]. So in this, we are like, "All right, I'm going to be like some of the OGs that I know, like [indiscernible] Sanders or Michael [indiscernible] and I'm going to come to with the energy and talk about a little bit of [indiscernible] and shout out to my guys, those are my dawgs, those like big brothers in this business." But then I was like, no, like, I have to start with pacing, I have to start with rhythm. I've been writing poetry since I was in seventh grade. So that's how I speak. That's how I talk. And once I found my voice and sports, all of these other doors started opening up from entertainment to now doing CBS Mornings next to Gayle King. It's -- it allowed me to find my voice. But then once again, going into news, it's completely different. I have to either stick with what I know and what I'm rooted in and talk the way I talk, or kind of conforms to what news people sound like. And I think I'm not -- I'm generalizing, not every person, of course, but -- there is a certain pacing and tone of people talk is like, "All right, tonight, we have traffic on the 405, and we'll see what happens when we can clear up the roads, make sure that you have your chains on your tires because it's going to be a dozy." And I had to tell myself, all right, you can either be that and see how long that lasts, or you can be yourself and have people become comfortable with you. So I think when it comes to starting a business, authenticity from the jump is important because it's better to have people adjust to who you truly are than you would try to adjust to what you think the needs of the people are. You're the best at being you. And when it comes to your business, that's what people identify what you talk about supporting Black business, you support the most authentic version of that, and that's what I think always travels well. I know for all us, the newers, almost every day requires a courage to keep going, to have confidence in your dreams. What do you feel like you drew your inspiration or your courage from when it came to doing what you do?

There was just an overwhelming, almost suffocating desire to tell a specific type of story. For me, it came down to fatigue and frustration of just knowing that there was more out there and constantly complaining and wanting others to pay [indiscernible], and I wanted to [indiscernible] and this story teller doing this live and this writer telling this story. And so it came down to like, I have to do it if I want to see it, and can I do it without this self doubt crept in? And sometimes these goals feel so out of reach. And it was a matter of just kind of talking myself into it and starting small. Like I think I did have big ambitions, but just I wanted to be on television and film, and it's very competitive. It's hard to even just break in. And so for me, starting small went creating the [indiscernible] film or helping to write someone else's movie or then ultimately, creating a web series that would launch my career. But creating these little milestones and checking those off continually gave me the courage to know that like I could do it. If I could achieve this step, then maybe I can do the next one. And so breaking it down into bite-size pieces was essential to building the courage and the bravery to just go for the big thing. But there are always going to be reasons to talk yourself out of it. There are always going to be obstacles. And people often do discourage you, but I just -- I love what I do and I always think about the job, that [indiscernible] that I worked at, that I just [indiscernible] -- and I [indiscernible] said earlier, like even with the NFL, right, like that's a job that there's so much time that you have to invest in that. And I think for many other entrepreneurs like we have those main jobs that are sustaining our living and so much of the courage is about taking that leap to make that -- to put that behind you and to make your passion or your business your full-time focus. And that can take time and you have to give yourself the grace to do that and carve out those little moments to go and say, "Okay, I have my 9 to 5, but from 6 to at least 7, I'm going to work on that. I'm going to write. I'm going to make this happen." And then that -- those hours will widen and until you're able to say, "Bye, job. I'm going to make this my full time."

Now you said something that was going to be powerful. It's taking that leap and having that courage just to take that leap. It's scary. It really is, no matter how confident you are, no matter how long you've been thinking about it. Even if you think it's your calling, you just not deep down inside, this is what you're supposed to be doing, to take a leap of faith is tough, especially when your life is on line and money is on the line and move over here, close [indiscernible] food on the table. All of that is taking in the balance. So for CBS Mornings, it's a little bit of a [indiscernible], but I think it fits right here. We did something called Never Too Late, which is basically at any age, you can do something that you've always wanted to do. Vlad, he was a samurai swordsman. Tony, who doesn't like to dance. He was taught how to dance professionally. Gayle loves to sign. She says she's not a good singer. So she went into the studio. Me, as I was talking with my producers, I was like I'm scared of heights. I've always been. I would jump out of a plane. I was really [indiscernible], and then they were like, no, we can make that happen. So then I kept trying to delay it and push it off. And then finally, they were like, it's time. Remember that piece we're doing. Yes, we're going to North Carolina to the Army base, the Golden Knights, these guys do this for a living, you're jumping out of a plane. Now I was nervous. But on the outside, typical male, typical former athlete, I'm playing it off, my ego won't let anybody see the anxiety and fear in me. And this is what I want to get to about taking that leap. So I get on that plane and we're climbing and it's like 2,000 feet. I'm looking down. I'm like, oh, man. Now my stomach is feeling a little funny. I'm like, "Oh, this is a good height. It's not that bad." They're like, no, no, no. We got to go up 10,000 more feet. I'm like, what? So we climb, climb, climb. Now they open this door. We are a 12,000 feet there. Now at this point, the cameras are on the plane, you've got cameras on the ground. You know how it is, you work in TV, they spend money. It's a production. I'm like, Nate, you've got to jump, bro. You can't tell them to land this plane, you can't be that guy. So while I'm walking to the door, and this is what I mean about what you said when you have all these obstacles. Sometimes it's not other people, it's yourself. As I'm duck walking to this door, my body was sending me every signal in the world not to jump, every signal. Now, I didn't eat that morning. I didn't have any fluids in my stomach. So my stomach was empty, my bladder was empty. As I'm walking, this is the conversation I have with my body. I'm like this, "Just breathe, man. You're good. Just breathe." My body is, "Wait, wait, wait. You have to go pee." I was like, "No, no, no. I won't have to go pee, I have nothing in my bladder." "No, no, no, Nate. Listen to me. Listen to us. We have to go pee. Stop, stop. Go back, go back and sit down." I'm like, "No, you're [indiscernible]." I keep walking and my body is like, "Wait, wait, you gotta go poo. Let's go. Let's go, poo. You'll be good. Let's think about this." And I was like, "No, I'm good, man. I don't have to poo. We're good. We're about to jump. We're good." And then my body was like, "No, no, no, you got to throw up. I know you feel like you got to throw up." And I was like, "Yes, I feel like I have to throw up, but I don't have to throw up." I was like, "Stop talking to me, I don't have the pee, poo or throw up. I'm jumping out of this plane, we're jumping out this plane." Literally, my conversation in my head. I get to this door. At that point, our toes are hanging over and I'm out. I'm floating above the earth. And I think in that moment, among this transformative like cascading float down to the ground, I realized like oftentimes, the thing that gets in the way of the stuff we want to accomplish is our own fears. And that voice and that whisper becomes louder as the fear grows bigger. And we have to quiet ourselves in order to accomplish what we want. So I had to share that real quick. All right. So we have an important follow-up to that. [ Brittany ] in the chat. How do you incorporate rest in your journey?

I've done so much better about incorporating rest. When -- I know entrepreneurs as soon to get that wind of like success and the promise of your business booming, you want to say yes to every opportunity. You want to say yes to every meeting. Everybody could lead to an opportunity to make your business more successful. So for me, those first couple of years of success, I was [ grained ] because I was saying yes to every meeting. I was like [indiscernible] yes, we can have a Sunday. Yes, I will go to this shoot. Yes, I will make this happen for this deadline because you just don't want to -- you don't want that to go away. You don't want anything to impede like what you can see in your future for success. And so lately, I've gotten better about that. I think a couple of years ago, post some of the year [indiscernible], like, this can be my year no. Like I'm just [indiscernible] because I got really -- I was taking so many meetings like as a creative, the way that your lifeline is being [indiscernible] to create new things and looked up at the end of 1 year when I had created nothing new, and I was just in service to other people. And at that point here, I haven't created anything to attract new customers, to attract the new audience. So what am I doing? I wasted time. And I made great connections, but at the end of the day, this is what I want to do. So for me, in that year of no, I've just been more regimented about when I'm taking these particular meetings and doing things for other people and then also when I'm creating these things. And then I will block at least 1 day for me like that. That is just a day where I will do nothing. That also serves as my procrastination day because I think if we all work hard, fascination in my disease. Often, I live with it. So I have to like succumb to it someday. And then when I'm done with it, then I'll go back to work. But I think trying to deny procrastination only makes things worse. So I rest and procrastinate the same day, and it's been working for me for a couple of years now.

That's good. I definitely know the [indiscernible] of having to say yes to everything because you just feel like you have to take advantage. And then you have momentum and you're like, I keep this momentum going. And there's this power you feel. You're like, I'll say, yes, and I seeing women. I'm killing it. I'm doing it, but then you feel depleted. You have to charge that battery up because if you don't, it's going to put you in a bad position. I am a guy who -- I just go, go, go. But I'll also give myself windows at time. I'm 41. When I'm 50, there are certain marks that I want to hit from a business perspective, financial perspective. That way I can rest. I will say this, that when I first got on the TV almost 10 years ago, I had the energy. I was young and I could run with the bulls. But now I know myself, as we like to say in football, know your personnel, know your person and know how much you can give before it starts to work as a detriment to whatever it is you're building. All right. So now we want to focus on what you want to know about being an entrepreneur for everybody who's listening. So we took a look at your [indiscernible] questions and picked 5 people to ask questions live. First up, we have a couple from the Greater Toronto area. [indiscernible] in the house. [ Desai, Stelara and Clinton Redhead ] our co-founders of the CMOS guy, a wellness brand that sells CMOS from the Caribbean or Caribbean, depending on how you say it. [ Desai ] and Clinton, you guys there? How you doing?

Our question is for both of you. We're wondering what are some mistakes that you made as entrepreneurs that you wish you could have avoided?

My mistake wasn't team building. Sometimes I think you can be so focused on what your mission is, I think that you can forget that there are other people who have missions of their own and to make sure that you're nurturing that as a leader. My biggest challenge has been curating the right team, but it's also been my biggest blessing. And I've learned the hard way to make sure to check it. Sometimes I can be inconsiderate in that way of just like, "Oh, I haven't like checked in on this person's family. I haven't to make sure that they're set up and haven't checked in with whether or not the path that we're on aligns with their goals." And that's like some confrontations and like I regret those because I [indiscernible] care about those people and because I don't have the foresight to be like, check in and to make sure that we're aligned. I lost some people along the way.

Yes. I agree with you. For me, it was similar, rushed before research, like I -- in football, it's all about how fast you can score a touchdown. The quickest way to the end zone is the best way to the end zone. And there's a lot of things that I thought parallel what I was doing outside of the game and it was like, I got to score as soon as possible. And there's always a phone call and an e-mail to get back to you. And I would feel this like pressure to respond to everybody and be everything that everybody wanted me to be, not knowing I could take my time. Like what I realized, there's always going to be deadlines. There's deadlines every day. And if you don't call somebody back, if you don't take a little bit of time to yourself to research, what you want to say or what your response should be or how you should roll out your product or how you should roll out yourself, then you're going to feel rushed. And whatever you're doing is going to feel unfulfilled. So I know it seems like the clock is ticking, always seems like the clock is ticking. But you have more time than you realize. I say, be patient, be diligent and be ready as ready as you can be. Because what I've realized is confidence comes in how ready you are. And the one thing we don't want to do is roll out anything, roll out product, roll out our sales, roll out our brands, if we're halfway confident in whatever we're putting into the world. So that's my opinion. And I definitely feel you on that. [ Desai ] and Clinton, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate you and shout out to Canada. I'm going to be up there soon. I'm right in New York. So I will pull up on you. All right? Okay. So next, we have Jessica [indiscernible] a Harlem chocolate factory in New York City, a company that makes gorgeous chocolate. Welcome, Jessica. What is your question?

My question is -- I think if it's right on what we were talking about. So I noticed that I grow my team as I grow my business that the team is the most important part. And I am trying to find, what are some innovative ways that you guys look to grow your team on a strict budget?

The [indiscernible] system. So like for me giving you the [indiscernible] I felt like it's going to be right that you send me chocolate, right? Well, I think it again goes back to making sure that the people that you're working with can see their future in your vision and to also trust that you're going to help them get there. A lot of my conversations have been like look, I don't have the money to pay you right now or I only have this much. But now, as soon as we get this milestone like I got you, whatever we need to discuss, like whether it's a handshake contract, a verbal contract, I just need you to trust me, and I've always made good. I've never made like if anything has come up, it's because the business hasn't worked, but I've never made a dime and not consider the people who have been along with me for the ride. And I think it's just being very transparent. People are -- people respect that when you tell them like it is, and they know that you're being upfront with them, and when they can also celebrate those wins with you down the line, it's essential. But also, again, keeping tabs on, like, well, what do you want to get out of this, by when, how can I help you get there? What services do you need for me in trade for your services? And how can we build a timeline towards that?

Issa, spot on, just offer those incentives that might not be readily available because they're not empty promises if the brand eventually becomes profitable and everybody loves chocolate. So you can also just give a little chocolate away. But -- and like I said, I'm in New York, so you have to see me [indiscernible] chocolate. I'm pulling up. I don't know about Issa, but I'm pulling up to Harlem, all right?

What's it called?