Thread by @chrishlad

3.2 billion people use a spreadsheet every month.

But what you don't know is that the spreadsheet led to Apple's early popularity and changed computers forever.

Here's the story of VisiCalc👇

The year is 1978.

And Dan Bricklin is a student at Harvard Business School.

Like any good Harvard student, one day he starts daydreaming.

But instead of dreaming about Bitcoin and NFTs, he thinks...

"Imagine if my calculator had a ball in its back, like a mouse.

And if I had a display like a fighter plane where I could see a virtual image in the air.

I could just move my mouse calculator around, punch in a few numbers and do all the calculations I need!"

- @DanB

So in the winter of 1978, Dan and his friend Bob Frankston create the first version of the electronic spreadsheet.

And that next year, Dan is tasked with a case study for one of his classes.

He needs to analyze "Pepsi-Cola"

So what does he do?

He uses his new spreadsheet for financial projections and with different scenarios.

The next day, Dan's professor asks him to present the case.

After sharing his findings, no one can believe it.

"Hey how did you do it?"

No one could believe Dan did it with a simple calculator.

But Dan tells no one the real reason..

After graduation, Dan and his friend Bob Frankston decide to program the VisiCalc electronic spreadsheet to be compatible for a computer company.

A little startup only a few years old:

Apple.

In 1979, VisiCalc sells it's spreadsheet for $100 with Apple II computers.

And something magical happens...

Before, companies made financial projections by hand.

Which means that if you change ONE number you need to recalculate every single cell.

"VisiCalc took ​20 hours of work for some people and turned it out in 15 minutes".

But more importantly,

VisiCalc convinces people that computers are not just toys.

They are tools.

As Steve Jobs said..

"Spreadsheets propelled the computer industry forward.

And VisiCalc propelled the success of Apple more than any other single event."

Without the spreadsheet, computers don't go mainstream.

And without VisiCalc, Apple isn't a $2 trillion company today:

"If VisiCalc was written for another computer, you'd be interviewing someone else right now."
-- Steve Jobs

If you liked this, retweet the 1st tweet so more people can learn how this simple tool changed the world:

https://twitter.com/chrishlad/status/1454988922543476736?s=20

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