Unvalidated Ideas #030

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Here's a fresh idea you can take out there and validate.

Spreadsheet Time machine

Autosave in applications is ubiquitous, yet being able to see the change stream on a spreadsheet is somehow not a core Excel feature.

The idea of version control is already quite common in programming and other fields are starting to get it too.

Build the version control and tracking solution for Excel that enterprises come to rely on. It's crazy that this doesn't already exist, for such intensely collaborative work like spreadsheet building.

There are at least 3 angles to this idea:

• Ensuring users never lose work on a single machine (B2C)
• Better coordination of work, for example knowing when you're on an old version (B2C)
• Auditing, for example know who changed specific numbers/formulas/etc (B2B)

The B2B solution is the most compelling here (and likely the most profitable), so that's probably the first place to hit.

Snowtrack, the solution for artists has a slick integration -- save yourself some thinking time and follow their lead.

Read my raw notes >

NOTE You may have to do a little extra work positioning to make sure you're not considered a surveillance tool! People don't think of git as a surveillance tool (because it's not), but more as a change tracking tool that's useful for seeing who did what and what has changed.

What was in this week's uncut edition?

Like being teased? I hope so, because here's what was in the uncut edition this week:

Ideas:

• Omnipay█████████████████
• Spreadsheet Time Machine
• ████████JIT█████Contractors

Wrapup:

• Building something people want and making sure you don't go broke doing it.

Don't forget, there's always money in the banana stand 3x more in the uncut edition.

Thanks for reading!

If you liked this letter feel free to criticize, comment on, remix, and share these ideas with your fellow builders and entrepreneurs!

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Check out the archive for access to editions that have been previously released.

Victor (victor@unvalidatedideas.com)

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