Concept
Spreadsheet Warrior
What it is
A spreadsheet warrior is someone who treats the model like gospel. On the investor side, they’ve built elaborate Excel workbooks: macros, sensitivity tables, hundreds of rows of comparables, opinions about cap rates. They’ve never written an offer. On the contractor side, they want every sub on some online software platform so they can track everything from a dashboard.
Ross’s take on the investor version: “It is smart to plan out a project. I’ve just seen a lot of people who plan out the numbers of the project like their gospel, and the thing is, there are just so many variables that happen after you’ve purchased. So if you take somebody else’s numbers and strategies and you think that that’s actually how it’s going to play out, you’re going to be sorely mistaken.”
Ross on the contractor version: “I even see some of these guys have some kind of software that they found online. Most of these softwares are built for new builders or high-end renovations, they don’t really fit the investor-grade game anyway. And then they’re out there trying to get all of the contractors to be on that software, because they’re like some kind of mindset that these guys owe me because I’m hiring them for the job. Well BS man. They like these jobs kind of suck and there are nicer projects out there.”
Why it matters
The spreadsheet is a tool, not an outcome. The first deal teaches more than a thousand models. Experience only comes from actually doing. knowledge times experience equals skill, and if one of those variables is zero, skill is zero. The warrior is banking knowledge without ever multiplying it.
“Don’t let these spreadsheet warriors get you concerned about, oh, well, you should have that money invested. No, you should have that money ready to oil your machine. I always have. I’m too conservative about those things probably, but 15 years later, still in the game.”
analysis paralysis wrapped in Excel feels productive, but it’s avoidance. Meanwhile, the investor who bought a mediocre house-hack three years ago is on their fourth property while the warrior is still optimizing cell formulas.
How it shows up
The cure is structure, not more analysis. Set a buy box. When a deal fits, use 70 percent rule math to back into a max offer. Write the offer. Most won’t get accepted. That’s fine. That’s the game.
If you’re spending weeks modeling one deal, you’re in the trap. base hits not home runs. Get on first base. You only learn by being in the game.
On the contractor side, Ross’s pushback is the same principle in reverse: don’t demand your subs live in your software. “The job is to do a good job, not to be a spreadsheet warrior.” A simple SOW, a simple pay schedule, a quick conversation when something changes. The relationship is the system. The software is a tool.
Related
analysis paralysis, knowledge times experience, base hits, gorilla flipping, buy box, 70 percent rule