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Excel-as-a-benchmark is a powerful thought argument. If something can't be significantly better than Excel, then product specs probably need refining. It's no
by ethbr1 2y ago
Excel-as-a-benchmark is a powerful thought argument.
If something can't be significantly better than Excel, then product specs probably need refining.
It's not that Excel is amazing or perfect in any one thing, but it is a pretty amazing blend of simplicity, flexibility, out of the box features, programmability, and presentation.
- karmajunkie 2y agothis dovetails into my test for whether i’m looking at a good startup idea or not… if existing solutions are all complicated spreadsheets, there’s both a potential market of users, and the problem is complex enough to warrant some code to manage it. ETA: obviously not all good startup ideas fit into that thesis, just the ones i tend to enjoy working on.
- ethbr1 2y agoIt's a good test, but also a trap. Because the relevant follow-on question is "Is it possible to design a single solution that will please most of these people?" Sometimes, the nature of the problem makes flexibility irreducible.
- karmajunkie 2y agoyou’re absolutely right! that’s where the art and science of product comes in, knowing what’s possible and whether you can cobble an addressable market by choosing which subset of stakeholders to please.