I always knew my love for spreadsheets was bordering on obsessive and unhealthy… I just didn’t care. Every time someone sent me data or a report to review in word I would return their work in a spreadsheet. Ahh that was much better… the columns and lines made sure everything was lined up just so, and if color coding was helpful (when is it not?) it’s easy to do, and well if it was financial (as so many reports are) you have safeguards of formulas and conditional formatting… WHY WOULDN’T I LOVE A GOOD SPREADSHEET? It was not until I was about to create a spreadsheet to organize all my other spreadsheets that I knew my love had officially turned into an unhealthy obsession.
Over the years I could often be heard saying… how is it 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020 and we are still using SPEADSHEETS? The system was effective in that everything was organized, and my team knew which template to use, when to use it, and how to format it, but it certainly was not efficient… not even with all the advances in clouds and sharing that Microsoft & Google had made because what you have to do with the information in them is so very MANUAL. As we event professionals know all that information in the spreadsheets needs to be transferred to onsite collateral, websites, hotels, vendors, team members, sponsors, speakers etc. Whenever the occasional typo or misprint would happen onsite and someone asked HOW could this happen, I always answer back how could it not we’re dying a slow death by a thousand spreadsheets?
SO as I sat at my desk this past July moments after being laid off assessing the feelings of relief, fear, and what now I knew it was time for me to trust my talent and experience enough to forge forward with something of my own. I started by asking myself what have I complained about or talked about every day for the last 15 years? It took a few weeks but then one day BOOM like a vision of heaven (or rather hell) I just saw spreadsheets flying past my face in a whirl of anxiety and I knew the problem that needed fixing.
I wake up every day excited that I am going to be able to help myself and fellow friends and colleagues with Arcat.XP, and in AWE of what my co-founder & brother is building & creating. But you know what I’m talking about… it’s the very same feelings you get watching an event build out right in front of your eyes only it’s a little sweeter because I know what we are building is going to help the industry and friends that I love so much.
Do you feel it? Do you have your sunglasses on so you can see it? Are you READY for the return to being able to safely LIVE OUR LIVES, and live them AT LIVE EVENTS? It’s the dawning of a new day, a new way of life. It is long at last time to say goodbye to spreadsheets, goodbye to Covid restrictions, and hello to the dawning of our new live event era.