When Emma Chieppor, 25, started a new job as an actuary, she struggled with using Excel. Working remotely from her home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she ended up teaching herself using YouTube videos.
Once she had mastered the Microsoft spreadsheet programme, Chieppor loved how much more efficient it made her at her job. In May 2021, she began posting videos on TikTok under the handle @exceldictionary, offering help to those who struggle with spreadsheets.
Within a week, one of her videos — a 25-second tutorial of the ‘flash fill’ function — went viral and her account amassed 100,000 followers. Four months later, she was at 1mn followers on TikTok and today she has more than 3.6mn followers across social media.