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It must have really hurt to invent and build Visicalc then get wiped out totally by Lotus 123. I seem to recall Dan Bricklin having a pretty good attitude abou
by andrewstuart 2y ago
It must have really hurt to invent and build Visicalc then get wiped out totally by Lotus 123.
I seem to recall Dan Bricklin having a pretty good attitude about it - I think he's here on HN he might chime in.
- AlbertCory 2y agoLotus had a record-breaking (at the time) product launch cost of $1 million or so. Software products were never so splashy. I was at Analytica (Reflex), which had a serious case of Lotus Envy: right down to the $495 price tag, and an expensive program to train computer store sales people (because that's how software got sold, you know /s ). Reflex was sort of like a spreadsheet, but it was not positioned as a Lotus competitor. Even in the early 80's, that was seen as impossible for anyone except the gigantic players. Reflex sold around 60 copies a week, burning $7 million of VC money, until Borland bought the company and cut the price to $99. Common shareholders (e.g. me) got nothing.