Basecamp the much applauded project management app from 37signals has (re)launched today. It is completely redesigned and has some nifty features. Apparently it is all designed for speed. I tried it and it is very fast indeed.
Here is a video introduction:
[vimeo 37570916 w=400&h=300]
Like it? You can take it for a testdrive.
Dan Benjamin interviews Jason Fried, co-founder of 37 Signals, the company behind Basecamp, Campfire, Highrise, Backpack, and the author of a new book, REWORK.Topics include big vs. small, fear of success, turning points, solving universal problems, if investment and success has affected the company and how it’s evolved over 10 years, the “37 Signals culture” and mindset (like spending only one day a week in the office), and finding design inspiration in nature.
Jason Fried, co-founder of 37 Signals, talks about his take on doing business. He shares his belief in the value of simplicity and how it can impact the optimal workplace. Fried works to identify the hidden inefficiencies of the typical workplace and develops common sense ways to fix them. Absolutely worth watching!
37signals is the company behind Basecamp, Campfire, Highrise and Backpack. Jason Fried has also just published a new book called REWORK.
There are a few essentials of entrepreneurship. Stuff that every entrepreneur just needs to know. Most of which cannot be learned in college. That’s exactly what David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of Ruby on Rails and partner at 37signals in Chicago, talks about in this speech.
His main arguments are that entrepreneurship is about building a product and pleasing customers. Constraints – fiscal, temporal, or otherwise – he says are important for driving innovation and effective problem-solving. Also, he extensively argues that venture capital for software startups is a time bomb, a thought I don’t entirely agree with. However, his other thoughts like “planning is guessing” or the “focus should be on today” rather then tomorrow are really essential.
Overall, I like his thoughts and his approach on entrepreneurship. The most important thing, Hansson believes, is to make a dent in the universe with your company. And that – to me – is what entrepreneurship is all about.
