VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program available for personal computers. It is often considered the application that turned the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool. VisiCalc sold over 700,000 copies in six years.

Conceived by Dan Bricklin, refined by Bob Frankston, developed by their company Software Arts, and distributed by Personal Software in 1979 (later named VisiCorp) for the Apple II computer, it propelled the Apple from being a hobbyist's toy to a useful tool for business.

According to Bricklin, he was watching a professor at Harvard Business School create a financial model on a blackboard. When the professor found an error or wanted to change a parameter, he had to erase and rewrite a number of sequential entries in the table. Bricklin realized that he could replicate the process on a computer using an "electronic spreadsheet" to view results of underlying formulae. The development of Visicalc took two months of work by Frankston and Bricklin during the winter of 1978–79. Their original intention was for it to fit in 16k, but this proved impossible and 32k became necessary (some additional features they wanted like a split text/graphics screen still had to be omitted for space reasons). However, Apple eventually began shipping all Apple IIs with 48k following a drop in RAM prices and this was no longer an issue. The initial release supported cassette storage, but it was quickly dropped.

Daniel Singer "Dan" Bricklin (born 16 July 1951), often referred to as “The Father of the Spreadsheet”, is the American co-creator, with Bob Frankston, of the VisiCalc spreadsheet program. He also founded Software Garden, Inc., of which he is currently president, and Trellix Corporation, which is currently owned by Web.com.

Bricklin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, where he attended Akiba Hebrew Academy during his high school years. He earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973, where he was a resident of Bexley Hall. He began his college career as a mathematics major, but soon switched to computer science.

Upon graduating from MIT, Bricklin worked for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) until 1976, when he began working for FasFax, a cash register manufacturer. In 1977, he decided to return to school, and he earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University in 1979.

While a student at Harvard Business School, Bricklin co-developed VisiCalc in 1979, making it the first electronic spreadsheet^{[dubious – discuss]}. It ran on an Apple II computer, and was considered a fourth generation software program. VisiCalc is widely credited for fueling the rapid growth of the personal computer industry. Instead of doing financial projections with manually calculated spreadsheets, and having to recalculate with every single cell in the sheet, VisiCalc allowed the user to change any cell, and have the entire sheet automatically recalculated. This turned 20 hours of work into 15 minutes and allowed for more creativity.

Bill Jelen (born February 17, 1965 in Salem, Ohio) is a technology author, book publisher, webmaster, television personality, and a Microsoft Excel MVP. He majored in Business at University of Notre Dame. He currently resides outside of Akron, Ohio with his wife and two sons.

Jelen is the author of "Guerilla Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel", "The Spreadsheet at 25 - The Evolution of the Invention That Changed the World", "Learn Excel from MrExcel". He is the co-author of "Power OneNote", "VBA & Macros for Microsoft Excel", "Pivot Table Data Crunching", "Excel for Teachers", and "Excel for Marketing Managers".

In 1998, Jelen launched the MrExcel.com website, a leading portal for solutions about Microsoft Excel. In 2002, he founded Holy Macro! Books, a small publisher of books and CD-ROMs. He is a regular guest on Call for Help a television program on G4techTV Canada in Canada, G4 in the United States, and the HOW TO Channel in Australia. He also produces a video podcast each weekday covering tips for Microsoft Excel.

Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs (/ˈdʒɒbz/; February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, designer and inventor. He is best known as the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Through Apple, he was widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution and for his influential career in the computer and consumer electronics fields. Jobs also co-founded and served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, when Disney acquired Pixar.

In the late 1970s, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak engineered one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Apple Lisa and, one year later, the Macintosh. During this period he also led efforts that would begin the desktop publishing revolution, notably through the introduction of the LaserWriter and the associated PageMaker software.

Robert (Bob) M. Frankston (born June 14, 1949 in Brooklyn New York) is the co-creator with Dan Bricklin of the VisiCalc spreadsheet program and the co-founder of Software Arts, the company that developed it.

Frankston graduated in 1966 from Stuyvesant High School in New York City and in 1970 from M.I.T.

Frankston has received numerous honors and awards for his work:

In recent years, Frankston has been an outspoken advocate for reducing the role of telecommunications companies in the evolution of the internet, particularly with respect to broadband and mobile communications. He coined the term "Regulatorium" to describe what he considers collusion between telecommunication companies and their regulators that prevents change.