Spreadsheets. Spreadsheets are probably not the most exciting piece of software available; it seems that one-third of all startup proposals contain the phrase “look how ridiculous this is; this is how people solve this problem now.”
They are the workhorses of the corporate world, and as well as Microsoft Excel works, as hard as Google Sheets attempts, and as much as we try to forget that Apple Numbers even exists, there is room for improvement.
Spreadsheets are capable of handling simple data organization. As arbitrary examples, they are used for financial models, inventory management, and keeping track of who brings extra gas for the generator at your Burning Man camp.
There are millions of us who utilize them in a multitude of ways. Still, they can be sluggish, aggravating, and weak. Eoin McMillan founded Sourceable in order to create “the world’s best spreadsheet” after realizing how important spreadsheets are and how much they can be improved.
Sourceable has recently secured $3 million in seed funding, following a $1.25 million pre-seed funding round led by Michael Berolzheimer of Bee Partners, in order to advance its mission. NextView Ventures and Long Journey Ventures are also listed on Sourcetable’s cap table.
Sourceable is competing head-to-head with not only two of the biggest names in technology but also two of the largest and most recognizable companies in the world: Microsoft with Excel and Google with Sheets. What motivates McMillan to undertake such an enormous undertaking?
The integrations on the right hint at one of Sourcetable’s primary focuses: the simplicity of incorporating new external data sources.
In an interview with TechCrunch, McMillan stated, “Spreadsheets are one of the core cognitive units for modern humans.” “They are so ubiquitous in our professional lives that they are comparable to water in the digital age.
Due to a lack of innovation from the duopoly of Microsoft and Google, this water has stagnated; Excel is a dinosaur from the pre-web era, and Google Sheets is an underpowered veneer of what was possible from a web-native spreadsheet (they got collaboration right but then stopped iterating). The incumbent trillion-dollar firms have abdicated their responsibility as innovators and failed to bear the torch.”
McMillan is aware of the significance of spreadsheets and is confident that a superior version can be developed. Experience has taught him that in order to complete the spreadsheet correctly, he must begin at the bottom and work his way up.
“I attempted to solve ‘the spreadsheet problem’ using code and non-technical means,” said McMillan. “We were even compensated for developing multiple database access tools based on spreadsheets for clients.
We came to the conclusion that it is impossible to make significant progress with existing solutions; you must own the interface and the data structure in order to make progress. That requires devising and constructing a new spreadsheet from scratch.”
Sourceable includes the following when creating a spreadsheet from scratch:
“We’ve packed a lot into the product,” said McMillan, “including charts, graphs, pivots, real-time document collaboration, data syncing with over 100 business applications, data warehousing, a SQL GUI and SQL editor for querying large datasets, publishing features, and all the spreadsheet formulas, shortcuts, and cell-based notation that people expect from Excel and Sheets.”
Where will Sourceable go from here, and what will its funding enable it to develop and deliver?
McMillan stated, “Their desires are relatively consistent.” More integrations, more templates, and continually improved analysis, reporting, and collaboration capabilities Therefore, we will concentrate on this.”
Sourceable intends to create a world-class team and expand its market by acquiring new customers as it continues to expand. Specifically, these customers appear to be professionals who desire and require the ability to access and manipulate substantial data, such as those employed in sales, accounting, finance, support, and HR.
McMillan told TechCrunch that Sourceable has been operating effectively in covert mode and will not emerge from private beta until the end of the year. However, if you are interested in joining its waiting list, you can do so here while Sourceable refines its offering based on user feedback to produce a product it hopes consumers will adore.
