
Airtable Became a Unicorn by Reinventing the Spreadsheet - pmp301
https://usefyi.com/airtable-history/
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prepend
I remember in the 90s there were all these neat and wonky 4/5GL databases like
Clarion, Foxpro, Powerbuilder, etc.

They were neat because they were ways for data users to design all the
workflow around their subject. They had downsides, of course, that are
apparent if you ever had to debug or support one. But a cloud dev front end
that recreates the freedom and flexibility of these dB tools has massive
potential.

Airtable srrms the closest to this dream.

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phonon
AWS is working on one...

[https://www.geekwire.com/2019/aws-everyone-new-clues-
emerge-...](https://www.geekwire.com/2019/aws-everyone-new-clues-emerge-
amazons-secretive-low-code-no-code-project/)

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toppy
Notion ([https://www.notion.so](https://www.notion.so)) is doing something
similar yet simpler with its 'Databases' view.

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pxtail
Tbh to me it looks more like reinvented MS Access than Spreadsheet

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vb6lives
It did both. Databases are big scary things to many people. They made it
accessible by using a spreadsheet as a user interface.

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jbottoms
I believe it was Big Brother that had a patent for AI using spreadsheets back
in the early 1980's. It did not stand up to scrutiny if I recall.

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arleny
It's crazy how such a simple CRM dashboard like Etacs could bring in 700k
funding in 2010. Nowadays that's a hackathon project.

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framp
It wasn't any different in 2010 in the majority of the world, for most people;
the 700k funding comes from a special location / network.

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wodenokoto
Is there something about Kutcher I don’t know? Why would you think of him as
your potential first investor into your spreadsheet app?

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wulfmann
Did you read the article? The relationship began when Kutcher approached him
to invest in his first product.

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wodenokoto
Apparently not close enough. Thanks for the clarification

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ec109685
What have Google Apps been doing in the meantime? Google Drawing expecially
hasn’t changed in years. Google Sheets isn’t improving at anything close to a
rapid pace.

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phonon
They released App Maker.

[https://developers.google.com/appmaker/overview](https://developers.google.com/appmaker/overview)

It's only available on the "Business" plan level or above ($10/user/month)
[https://gsuite.google.com/pricing.html](https://gsuite.google.com/pricing.html)

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xiaodai
Last time I tried, it was slow as hell. Let me try again!

