qval blog

qval and Quist Valuation on Apple.com and 37signals.com

Apple did a business profile on Quist Valuation just around the time that we were beginning work on qval. Some months have passed since Apple first wrote the profile, and since then qval has split off from Quist Valuation as sister company. There is no doubt that switching to Apple at Quist was the gateway drug that lead us to 37signals products like Basecamp, and open source software such as Ruby on Rails.

With qval now less than a year old, it's pretty cool to see mention of us up on the Apple website and on 37signals. Sure, the profile is really a marketing piece for Apple, and while it may miss some of the finer points we would like to convey about qval and Quist Valuation, it captures our feelings about Apple and 37signals accurately.

The Profile on Apple.com:

Apple - Business Profiles - Quist Valuation: "‘We’re creating something that can capture the information that we need to do a valuation,’ he says. ‘If we have a program that makes it easy to capture information then an analyst doesn't have to spend his or her time cutting and pasting information into an Excel spreadsheet. It frees the analyst up to do things that are more analytical in nature. Our program is designed to replace dependence on the monotonous parts of the valuation process.’

Carroll decided to develop the software using Ruby on Rails, an open-source web programming language developed by a partner of 37signals."

(Via Apple - Business Profiles.)

And 37signals picking up the story:

37signals Product Blog: Apple profiles customer who saved $70k by using Macs and Basecamp: "Apple profiles customer who saved $70k by using Macs and Basecamp.

This Apple profile of Quist Valuation talks about how the company has used Basecamp and the Mac to replace $70,000 worth of Microsoft software and equipment."

(Via 37signals Product Blog.)

Product Blog update: Basecamp storage, podcast case study, Apple profiles a customer, Palm OS client for Backpack, etc. - (37signals): "Buzz/Press Apple profiles customer who saved $70k by using Macs and Basecamp

‘The Mac and Basecamp have replaced $70,000 worth of Microsoft software and related equipment. ‘We pay a few hundred dollars a month for an unlimited version of Basecamp,’ says Carroll. ‘It takes care of Microsoft SharePoint server, Microsoft Project server and most of Microsoft CRM. We’ve replaced a solution that would have cost at least $70,000 to fully implement and would have required a full-time tech consultant.’’"

(Via 37signals - Signal vs. Noise.)

We are very thankful to Apple and 37signals for all of the press! And of course Quist Valuation too. We are also thankful to Sara France, the wonderful and talented photographer who took the pictures for the profile. Sara has also been kind enough to plug us on her blog - More of my images on Apple.com

--
Bill Carroll

Merlin Mann’s Worst Website Ever!

I'm not sure why Viddler, a video sharing site that's been around for a while, hasn't made my radar screen until now, but it might just be enough to start me video blogging. Here's a great video from the site featuring Merlin Mann of 43 Folders as he "opens the kimono" about social networking sites.

The Viddler Spotlight » Merlin Mann’s Worst Website Ever!: "Merlin Mann, a maverick in his own right for things like GTD and Inbox Zero, and the founder of 43folders.com goes through the Worst Website Ever during a panel at SXSW by taking a stab at many of the tactics of today’s online services."

(Via Viddler.)

--
Bill Carroll