REWORK – Details, episodes & analysis

This week on the REWORK podcast, 37signals co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson answer another round listener questions. Jason and David talk about the ups and downs of their long-running business partnership and friendship, tackle a critical question about Basecamp, and share their thoughts on starting a new company. Plus, they reveal the inspiration behind their Campfire software.

Key Takeaways

00:34 – How Jason and David's partnership has stood the test of time

09:21 – A listener's opinion on Basecamp's shortcomings

14:56 – Advice for building a new company from the ground up.

25:35 – Creating products out of a need versus seeing a business opportunity

Links and Resources

Is group chat making you sweat?

Books by 37signals

Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com

HEY World | HEY

The REWORK podcast

The Rework Podcast on YouTube

The 37signals Dev Blog

37signals on YouTube

@37signals on X

In this episode, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, co-founders of 37signals, return from a summer hiatus to answer a new set of listener questions. They dive into topics like the role of A.I. in writing and their updated thoughts on staying Facebook-free. REWORK host, Kimberly Rhodes also gets in a question of her own.

Key Takeaways

00:38 - Emphasizing the importance of using your own voice in writing rather than relying on AI

05:50 - Discussing how targeted advertising can be beneficial for some but not for everyone

08:50 - One disagreement with a company or person shouldn't lead to complete condemnation

19:28 - David shares his reflections on taking a summer break from X (formerly Twitter)

Links & Resources

Google pulls Dear Sydney ad

Google - Dear Sydney Ad

ONCE.com

Jobs at 37signals

Books by 37signals

HEY World

The REWORK Podcast

The 37signals Dev Blog

37signals on YouTube

37signals on X

Elaine Richards, 37signals' Chief Operating Officer, shakes things up by flipping the script on host, Kimberly Rhodes. They discuss the behind-the-scenes work of producing the REWORK podcast and selecting topics that resonate with the audience. They even dive into Kimberly's background in podcasting and how the podcast has changed over time. 

Key Takeaways:

01:41 - It all started for Kimberly with an event industry podcast

05:19 - The process of creating and reviewing the final product

10:41 - Expanding episodes from audio-only to adding video

12:00 - Creating the video set 

14:01 - Broadening podcast content beyond the REWORK essays

19:15 - Not all episode ideas make it to air

20:58 - Evaluating the podcast stats

22:22 - The most popular REWORK Podcast themes and episodes

Podcasting Tools we use:

Podcast Recording – SquadCast
Podcast Hosting – Buzzsprout
Transcripts and Captions – Rev
Social Clips – Opus Clip

Episode Mentions:

David Heinemeier Hansson’s HEY World blog

Jason Fried’s HEY World blog

This Week In Weddings Podcast

Summer Fridays

Leaving The Cloud

How We Work: Fewer Meetings, More Check-Ins

Software Has Bugs

Ask the Founders: Live Q&A with Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson

A Matter of Ambition - Part 2

Additional Links & Resources:

Books by 37signals

Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com

HEY World | HEY

The REWORK podcast

The Rework Podcast on YouTube

The 37signals Dev Blog

37signals on YouTube

@37signals on X

It's incredibly easy to focus too much on the little details of what you're building. You can spend hours and hours on something that will rarely ship with the final product. And, details are important! But, early on is not the time to worry about them. Focus on the basics first and worry about the specifics later.

Show Notes

• 02:14 - Hill Charts (Basecamp)
• 03:02 - Fat marker sketches (Shape Up)
• 07:17 - On the Origin of the iPhone (Daring Fireball)
• 10:21 - "Getting Real" design tip: Just say no to Lorem Ipsum (Signal vs Noise)
• 12:15 - Why are we likely to continue with an investment even if it would be rational to give it up? (The Decision Lab)
• 12:16 - Why do we value items more if they belong to us? (The Decision Lab)
• 13:12 - Test-driven development (Wikipedia)
• 18:31 - basecamp.com/customers

When starting something new, you can work on the stuff you could do, the stuff you want to do, and the stuff you have to do. It's the stuff you have to do is where you should begin. To find that epicenter ask yourself, "if I took this one thing away, would what I'm selling still exist."

Show Notes

• 06:07 - Highrise
• 08:23 - Salesforce
• 15:32 - Is Your Product a 'Vitamin' or 'Painkiller?' - Entrepreneur
• 16:12 - The Screener

You can't do everything you want to do and do it well. You just don't have the time, resources, people, etc., so you're going to have to cut some things. But, this isn't a bad thing at all! As with any other early constraints, embrace the editing process. Your product will be better off for it!

Show Notes

• 02:08 - tilted
• 05:56 - Jonas Downey
• 06:31 - Ryan Singer
• 06:33 - Matthew Linderman (Matt Ruby)
• 08:49 - The HEY Cover Art Gallery
• 10:50 - Six-week cycles (Shape Up)
• 15:28 - A Review Of The Minimum Viable Product Approach (Forbes)
• 17:09 - HEY Features
• 17:23 - The Screener
• 19:04 - Getting Real (YouTube)
• 21:13 - The "Building of Basecamp" Workshop (37signals)

When you're just starting off you're going to be surrounded by constraints. You probably won't have enough time to do everything you want to do. You probably don't have enough people or money either. Don't worry! These are good things! It's when you're boxed in that you're forced to make tough decisions on what to do and what not to do. This results in a clearer, more streamlined product. Embrace those constraints!

Show Notes

• 04:06 - Six-week cycles (Shape Up)
• 08:23 - Ruby on Rails
• 11:09 - SharePoint
• 11:12 - Microsoft Project
• 12:55 - Backpack
• 12:57 - Campfire
• 13:00 - Highrise
• 16:31 - Duke Nukem Forever (Wikipedia)
• 17:00 - Doom (Wikipedia)
• 18:24 - Shape Up

Businesses can get weighed down by things like excess staff, countless meetings, long-term contracts, etc. The more mass they take on the harder it is change direction. Being able to change direction, to change your mind, is essential to building a successful company.

Show Notes

• 07:20 - Newton's laws of motion (Wikipedia)
• 20:34 - Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders - L. David Marquet (Bookshop.org)
• 21:35 - Hire managers of one (Signal v. Noise)

A lot of people start businesses with the hope that they'll be able to sell it quickly for a huge pile of money. While this might happen sometimes, it's extremely rare and even worse, the businesses created with this goal sacrifice so much just for the chance to sell. They sacrifice their customers, their employees, their product quality... You get the idea. It's like building a house that only looks good in pictures, but you certainly wouldn't want to live in it.

Show Notes

• 03:10  - The Imbox: It's not a typo
• 17:38 - Basecamp 3 Uptime
• 22:04 - Mojito island is a mirage (Signal v. Noise)
• 23:21 - Why 37signals Refocused on a Single Product: Basecamp (Inc.)
• 23:49 - Groundhog Day (IMDb)
• 25:52 - Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Bookshop.org)

Last episode of the year and we're talking about startups. The new dry cleaner down the street doesn't call itself a startup. The pizza place on the corner doesn't call itself a startup. They're new businesses, that's all! So, what's so special about your tech company that you need a fancy word for it? Startups make you think of unlimited growth, huge investments, no expenses to worry about. This mindset can be unhealthy and detrimental to your new business.

Show Notes

• 02:57 - Request for Proposal (Investopedia)
• 10:02 - Greater fool theory (Wikipedia)
• 15:57 - R.I.P. Good Times (Sequoia Capital)
• 23:00 - Hotwire