![]() ![]() This realization crystallized an idea that had been slowly taking shape in Howie’s mind for years. That year proved to be an invaluable learning opportunity: While at Salesforce, Howie observed that many of the most useful software applications are nothing more than a relational database with an interface and some customizations layered on top. In 2010, Salesforce acquired Liu’s first company, and he then worked at Salesforce as a product manager for a year before leaving to start Airtable. ![]() Like many great ideas, the vision behind Airtable formed gradually. Howie joined me on the latest episode of the BUILD Podcast to share his vision for a product that he believes will ultimately democratize the ability to build software. “And we’re creating this application platform for teams within any company to build their own useful business process using an end user interface that feels like a spreadsheet, but is actually powered by a relational database and all of these other powerful pieces that we give you to build a useful, tailor-made application.” “What we’re really doing is creating this new layer of data-based workflows,” said Howie. But as founder and CEO Howie Liu explains, the platform’s familiar end user interface actually belies a transformational application powered by a flexible, relational database.Ībove: A screenshot from Airtable’s homepage They’re not entirely wrong Airtable looks like a spreadsheet and behaves like a spreadsheet. Many people-even those familiar with the platform-think of Airtable as a spreadsheeting tool. Airtable is now worth more than $1 billion, and over 170,000 companies use it, including giants like Netflix, Shopify and Time, along with half of the Fortune 1000. Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad and Emmett Nicholas founded Airtable in 2012 on the belief that people can solve their unique problems by creating their own unique software.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |