Intuit. The ultimate small business channel.

Rarely do I talk with an entrepreneur - especially ones focused on the small business market - that does not reference Intuit in some way. 'We want to be the Intuit of our sector. We want to partner with and sell through Intuit. We want to exit to Intuit.' Well, Homestead has now done all of the above.

A do-it-yourself web site builder and survivor of 1.0, Homestead almost single handedly created their own segment back when. Back when? Back when people asked why small businesses needed a web site. They mastered the art of robust, easy to use online software combined with a high touch model that got newcomers engaged for the long run. And now they have a new home inside Intuit with the opportunity to leverage all the trusted relationships they have to offer them. And a little marketing muscle.

Two things are happening in the SMB. The many silos of services spawned principally by the advent of SaaS are slowly starting to meld into fewer, bigger silos so that small business does not have to manage so many vendor relationships. And what once was cutting edge - site building - is now a commodity. When that happens, you better get out or have really strong distribution.

Congratulations to another Valley exit.