Daniel Singer Bricklin | Biography

Daniel Singer Bricklin was the principle designer of the VisiCalc spreadsheet program, founder of Software Arts and, subsequently, Software Garden, Inc. This work earned him the unofficial title, "The Father of the Spreadsheet."

Daniel Bricklin enrolled in a B.S. program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1969, graduating in 1973. Initially Bricklin had embarked upon a major in mathematics, but he soon abandoned this in favor of a degree in computing science, a change that returned him to an old love. While in high school Bricklin had produced a project extending FORTRAN as an entry in a science fair.

Bricklin worked in the Laboratory for Computer Science during his time at MIT and it was there that he met his future business partner Bob Franskton. After graduating from MIT Bricklin started working for the Digital Equipment Corporation where he was project leader on the development of the WPS-8 word processor software. From 1976 to 1977 Bricklin worked for the FasFax cash register manufacturing company. Bricklin left FasFax to undertake an MBA in Business Administration at Harvard Business School, which he completed in 1979. While at Harvard Bricklin realized that the home PC could be used for a lot more than just word processing; he recognized that calculations could be carried out by the computer and displayed on the screen just as easily as words.

In 1978, just prior to completing his MBA, Bricklin co-founded Software Arts with Bob Franskton, becoming the executive vice president and chairman of the board. Here Bricklin designed the "vital user interface" and Franskton developed the necessary coding for their computer spreadsheet. By 1979 VisiCalc was ready for marketing. It was also at this time in 1979 that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were developing the Apple computer for use by the general public, but they had come up with no reason for the public to buy it other than curiosity value. By the end of 1979 VisiCalc was launched on the Apple II platform. Sales boomed. Software Arts then produced VisiCalc for the IBM / PC in 1981.

The combination of his B.S., MBA, and experience with Software Arts soon got Bricklin noticed. In 1981 Bricklin was awarded the Grace Murray Hopper Award for Outstanding Young Computer Professional of the Year. This award was given by the Association for Computing History in recognition of his work in the development of the spreadsheet for the home PC market. This and other innovations of the time really helped bring the PC into many homes, convincing users that there was a practical use for the computer.

VisiCalc set the standard in spreadsheets for many years to come, and because it was not patented, other developers were able to take the idea and move forward in many different directions. By 1983 Software Arts employed 125 people and annual sales were in excess of 10 million units. Due to newer and better products flooding the market, many of which were based on VisiCalc, Bricklin and Franskton were eventually forced to sell Software Arts to Lotus in 1985.

After the sale of Software Arts Bricklin briefly worked with Lotus as a consultant, but by the end of 1985 he had set up, and become president of, Software Garden, Inc. Software Garden, Inc. produces a range of software that allow designers to produce demonstrations of programs before they have been written. This product won the 1986 Software Publishers Association Award for Best Programming Tool. An updated version of the program won the same award in 1987.

In 1990 Bricklin co-founded the Slate Corporation, becoming vice president in 1992. In 1994 the Slate Corporation folded, allowing Bricklin to devote his full energies to Software Garden, Inc. It was at this time that Software Garden began developing software that could convert text data into a graphical form, called the Dan Bricklin OverAll Viewer.

In 1995 Bricklin founded the Trellix Corporation, taking on the role of chief technology officer, which he still held in 2001. The Trellix Corporation is involved in Web authoring software. Daniel Bricklin is also a founding trustee of the Massachusetts Software and Internet Council, and he has served on the boards of both the Software Publishers Association and the Boston Computer Society. Since his first award in 1981 Bricklin has continued to be publicly recognized for his work, collecting awards from such organizations as the ACM, IEEE, MIT, and the Boston Jaycees.