Spreadsheets contain knowledge
I’ve often considered how, throughout the world, spreadsheets contain vast amounts of knowledge. Wrapped up in formulas and data is a wealth of curated information and specialist knowledge in the form of logic.
Recently, I came across another example of this in a tweet[1] shared by Dave Kellogg. It included a link to the equity calculator[2] by SaaSoptics.
The Equity Calculator takes various business inputs and calculates how a company’s founders and their venture capital partners will share the projected gains.
As you might expect, the calculator itself is an Excel spreadsheet. And the creator has embedded their knowledge into the model as data and formula logic.
Enter Squirrel365
Spreadsheets are a great medium for creating calculators like this. But they are not always the best for sharing and communicating. This is where Squirrel365 comes in.
The Squirrel designer allows you to take a spreadsheet and give it a Web-based front-end which:
- Makes the knowledge in the spreadsheet more accessible and easier to use
- Hides complex and proprietary logic
- Allows the resulting project to be embedded in any Web site, portal or even a PowerPoint presentation
So I set myself the challenge of giving this equity calculator a makeover. Turning the original spreadsheet into something that does a better job of capturing the inputs and presenting the outcome.
In around 45 mins I had turned the spreadsheet into this interactive web-based version using only “drag and drop”.
The only things required were:
- the Equity Calculator spreadsheet
- a quick look at the Maxio website (for some branding styling cues)
- a Squirrel365 account.
The result is an interactive web page that is easier to use, visually more appealing (with better branding) and hides any proprietary or complex formula logic.
What is more, it can be shared via a link, embedded in another web page, portal or Notion, Medium etc. It can even be added (with full interactivity) to a PowerPoint slide.
We hope the team at Maxio like it too. 🙂
If you have knowledge wrapped up in a spreadsheet, why not give it a facelift like this? You can sign up for an account here and create your first project completely free.
[2] You can find more details on the equity calculator (including the Excel file) here.
[1]The original tweet from SaaSOptics :
Download our new Equity Calculator template that helps you understand what the impact to your #equity will be if you were to raise or sell today based on critical inputs around #SaaS company's performance & the cost of #capital. https://t.co/N2i3F6NSEK pic.twitter.com/HnUAkQhl6H
— SaaSOptics (@saasoptics) August 3, 2022
