Have you ever had an idea that was kicking around in your head… for two years?

On New Year’s Eve 2007 we announced our global asset-allocation model, which by that time had been in development for months. We searched high and low for a global-macro allocation index, finally determining that there was no such thing (see our rant here). So we did what MSCI, Dow Jones, FTSE and all the other global index providers failed to: We created our own global asset-class index by solving the unique set of data-collection and manipulation issues that a global portfolio presents. And we took it one step further with “smart” indexing technology.

How Many Trials Can You Do in a Millisecond?

Based in Excel/VBA, the model rips more horsepower out of that software than any Microsoft engineer ever intended. Somewhere in the world, someone is using VBA to perform one thousand Monte Carlo simulations per second on a deep data set, and then delivering the results to a graphic-rich spreadsheet that auto-formats an analytical dashboard on the fly.

But if so, chances are they’re using the wrong software; and so are we.

It’s Always a Good Time to Get Serious

So we are in early discussions with a custom software-development company to see about porting the solution from Excel to an interactive, Web-based application environment. We are looking either to outsource the development or to manage it internally, and merely outsource the programming. We’ll let you know how it goes.

At the Risk of Gushing Vinaigrette…

In the meantime, we want to give some credit where it’s due. The good people at Balsamiq Studios let us try out their software-whiteboarding program, Balsamiq Mockups. We promised them we would let our readers know about our experience with the program, good or bad.

One of our mockup screensIt was good. In fact, Balsamiq Mockups is one of the most intuitive and useful applications we’ve used in 25 years. (Coincidently, 25 years is how long balsamic vinegar is aged for. It’s what the mystics call coincidence.)

Never having even heard of the program before yesterday, much less used it, we were able to completely map out a fairly complex user interface in one day. With zero training and zero headaches, we created thirteen mockup screens for discussion with a software engineer.

If Bill Gates could provide software like this, we might have finished that textbook on financial modeling by now. But Balsamiq has an advantage on Microsoft: It’s got two full-time employees. (Judging by Vista, Microsoft has at least twice as many.)

Lots of people are leaving the financial-services industry these days. Even those leaving involuntarily seem to be doing so with relief; we note John Thain as an exception.

Some of these emigres are starting their own businesses, including new software ventures — recognizing that applications used in finance are too often clunky and out-of-date, two or three technology generations behind in terms of user-friendliness and operability. Such applications are not only difficult to use, but difficult to train on — and that means expensive to maintain. Especially when your turnover is high and shrinking margins mean embracing “younger” (ageism for cheaper) “talent” (euphemism for automaton).

The world doesn’t need more software. It needs more good software. And it needs more entrepreneurs. Got a software concept? Take a look at Balsamiq Mockups. After two years (and 25), it feels good to get our idea down on “paper.” ♦