Compound Growth Rate and ^

[1richrich1]

A few months ago, I got the help of this forum to obtain the formula for compound growth rate. The formula I was given was something like this:

=sum(present earnings/starting earnings)^(1/#years)-1

That has worked in excel, but now I am attempting to move this formula from excel to a web program and I don't know what ^ does. The help section sez that ^ is *, but that doesn't work. Can anyone help me with ^? In excel the formula of
=sum(1.88/.29)^(1/9)-1 = 23.1 . How would I get the same answer in a regular math formula?

Thanks Rich Hill