Co-founder and CEO of 37signals (Basecamp, HEY), co-author of Rework and Shape Up's home company.
“Yesterday I wrote about a free event we were throwing which cost $100 to attend, but the full $100 was refunded at the door if you showed up. I said I'd share the results. Ok, so the event was this morning. It went incredibly well. Here are those results: 55 people paid $100 to attend. 50 of those people showed…”
Jason Fried describes an experiment for a free in-person Basecamp event in Chicago: attendees pay a $100 refundable deposit at registration and get the cash back at the door if they show up. The problem is that free…
Jason Fried argues that how fast a product is built, how many commits or people went into it, and how many hours were spent are all development metrics about the work, not the product. These measures say nothing about…
Jason Fried argues against the idea that AI will spark a bespoke software revolution where everyone builds their own custom tools. He notes that custom software already exists and is usually bloated because clients pay…
Jason Fried argues that the original Cuisinart food processor is a near-perfect example of interface design. Its two large paddle buttons, one latching for continuous ON and one spring-loaded for momentary PULSE/OFF…
Jason Fried argues that the excitement around AI agents comes less from the technology itself and more from the psychological experience they create: delegating a task to someone fully competent. He notes that most…
Jason Fried describes staying in a brand-new rental house packed with smart-home technology and finds it worse than basic, older equipment. Lights, a TV, a dishwasher that needs an app, a thermostat, and an alarm panel…
Jason Fried announces Fizzy, a new kanban-style card-and-column tool from the team behind Basecamp. He argues that popular issue-tracking tools like Trello, Jira, and Asana have grown bloated and complicated, drifting…
Jason Fried argues that the best time to invite outside users into a product is only a week or two before launch, when it is essentially a near-final release rather than an early beta. At that stage he is not seeking…
Jason Fried, co-founder of Basecamp, praises the Concept2 RowErg indoor rowing machine as a benchmark of product quality. He describes its simple, durable construction, low maintenance, easy assembly and compact…
Jason Fried argues that a new product does not need to be revolutionary or disruptive to succeed. He describes how whole product categories can drift toward ever-greater complexity, with competitors one-upping each…
Jason Fried argues that the most interesting design is the kind that changes how people behave, not just how something looks or works. He uses the power reserve indicator on the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 watch as an…
Jason Fried responds to a young entrepreneur in his mid-20s who sold a business and now holds a couple million dollars in liquid cash, asking whether to invest it, start a new company, or do something else. Fried's…
Jason Fried argues that marketing is less about slogans or campaigns and more about the transfer of whatever a team actually feels about its work. At its best, genuine enthusiasm and care spread outward and become the…
Jason Fried argues that owning an independent company is a rare privilege, one that frees leaders to experiment in ways that public companies and businesses forced to justify every move cannot. He encourages owners not…
Jason Fried responds to the recurring criticism that Basecamp makes 'yet another' to-do list, chat, or messaging product. He admits the pull toward grander missions in tech is real, but argues it looks odd when applied…
Jason Fried describes almost washing his hands with a tiny fly sitting by the drain. Turning on the tap would have sent it down, but a moment of hesitation let the fly escape on its own. The essay uses this small moment…
Jason Fried argues that the common hiring requirement of 'years of experience' is a weak signal, since time spent doing something doesn't guarantee anything was actually produced or learned. He proposes evaluating…
Jason Fried argues that when we meet a simpler system, idea, or implementation, our instinct is often to dismiss it as insufficient. He suggests a better response is to ask why our own work has become so complicated and…
Jason Fried defends the continued use of cover letters in hiring, responding to people who think they no longer matter. He argues that a cover letter is the first and most revealing signal of an applicant's effort…
Jason Fried argues that people should not spend much energy thinking about legacy. His core point is to do the best work you can right now, since usefulness later only follows from usefulness today. He challenges the…
Jason Fried, co-founder of Basecamp, answers a common question: why build something brand new instead of adding it to an existing product? He argues that a fresh start gives teams the freedom to explore new technology…
Jason Fried argues that teams don't need a prioritized backlog to know what to work on next. Choosing the next task is just a series of yes/no decisions, and those can be made as you go, using what you currently know…
Jason Fried argues that business cannot be learned from books, posts, or threads, because it is a practical skill built through doing. He compares it to music and sports, where reading about a craft never substitutes…
Jason Fried's short essay argues that randomness, as seen in untouched nature, is among the most beautiful things there is. He describes forests, fields, stones, light, wind, and water as arrangements that never line up…
Jason Fried argues that hiring, especially for executive roles, is ultimately a gut decision driven by judgment. Although hiring processes try to add scientific rigor, the essential qualities being evaluated, experience…
Jason Fried argues that while curiosity about what's new is expected, it is more valuable to study what has lasted. Products, practices, and ideas that survive repeated attempts to kill them contain durable lessons…
Jason Fried describes a six-week sprint at Basecamp focused on smoothing the trial-to-paid onboarding experience, which bundled many small changes at once: a sample Getting Started project, a one-step project creation…