Connecting with customers is part of the job. In this episode, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share why staying close to the people who use your product still matters, even as companies scale. They touch on writing customers directly, keeping the door open after the first reply, and why real conversations beat shouting into the social media void.

Key Takeaways

• 00:11 – Writing customers from a real inbox
• 05:21 – Building real relationships with the people who use your product
• 11:34 – Keeping the line open after the first exchange
• 14:07 – Why email still feels more personal than sliding into DMs
• 19:29 – Getting to know who your customers actually are
• 21:55 – Why real human connection is still the point

Links and Resources

• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• Record a video question for the podcast
• Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com
• Books by 37signals
• HEY World | HEY
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X

Sometimes speed matters more than polish. In this episode, the team shares how a HEY Calendar feature went from idea to shipped in about a day — and what made that possible. It’s a look at when moving quickly helps, when it doesn’t, and how writing clean code gives you room to change your mind later without breaking everything.

Key Takeaways

• 00:11 – Shipping a new feature in roughly a day
• 03:14 – Catching the moment while it's hot
• 08:02 – Shortening the path from idea to implementation
• 12:04 – Making change easier with clean, thoughtful code
• 19:42 – Designing things that hold up and are easy to fix
• 22:51 – Building for the future

Links and Resources

• "Building HEY Calendar's Year View" from Michelle Harjani's HEY World
• Maintenance of Everything (Part One) by Stewart Brand
• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• Record a video question for the podcast
• Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com
• Books by 37signals
• HEY World | HEY
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X

The confetti’s settled. The product is out in the world. So… what happens next? Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share what the days after a launch actually look like at 37signals. They discuss not letting early numbers steer the ship, making space for rest after the push, and remembering that shipping is just the start, not the finish line.

Key Takeaways

• 00:10 – What happens shortly after launch
• 02:09 – Dialing the team back
• 05:10 – Product touch ups and enhancements
• 06:16 – Returning to a familiar work rhythm
• 07:16 – Balancing the product push with real breaks
• 10:39 – Not letting early signups call the shots
• 20:32 – Sticking with what works for your team
• 22:00 – Putting the product ahead of quick money moves
• 27:26 – Why launch buzz doesn’t last forever

Links and Resources

• The Great Falls of Boeing, Intel, and Apple from David Heinemeier Hansson's HEY World
• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• Record a video question for the podcast
• Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com
• Books by 37signals
• HEY World | HEY
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X

A fresh batch of listener questions leads this week's conversation. Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson talk through how they approach product walkthroughs, what's ahead for open code at 37signals, and why a little fun still belongs in serious software.

Key Takeaways

• 00:22 – Recording product walkthroughs without scripts or polish
• 11:45 – Writebook as an open source product
• 15:04 – How the 37signals team uses Basecamp and Fizzy together
• 22:52 – The quiet joy of Easter eggs and playful details in software

Links and Resources

• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• Record a video question for the podcast
• Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com
• Books by 37signals
• HEY World | HEY
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X

Coming up with a product name doesn’t have to be complicated. In this episode, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share when in the development process a name is chosen, how several of their products got their names, and why keeping things simple usually wins. They talk about what's worth considering and what's not worth a second thought.

Key Takeaways

• 00:10 – How Fizzy got its name and what it was almost called
• 04:29 – No name ever checks every box
• 10:25 – When an available domain influences the choice
• 13:18 – The legal realities
• 17:26 – What’s behind the name Omarchy (and how do you actually say it?)
• 20:12 – Good names work by making an easy connection

Links and Resources

• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• Record a video question for the podcast
• Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com
• Books by 37signals
• HEY World | HEY
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X

AI has moved fast, and so has 37signals’ thinking. This week, host Kimberly Rhodes talks to co-founder and CTO David Heinemeier Hansson about the progress AI has made over the last few months. David shares what’s changed, what’s actually useful now, and why his outlook has grown more optimistic.

Key Takeaways

• 00:11 – How today’s AI feels dramatically more powerful
• 05:05 – David’s real-world experience working with AI agents
• 23:36 – How AI can help non-programmers
• 31:05 – Why the upside of AI outweighs the potential risks

Links and Resources

• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• Record a video question for the podcast
• Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com
• Books by 37signals
• HEY World | HEY
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X

Good ideas rarely belong in just one place. This week, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share how 37signals lets concepts move freely across products, turning one solid idea into many useful ones. They talk about borrowing from the past without getting stuck in it, giving new concepts time to catch on, and keeping space for creativity as products evolve.

Key Takeaways

• 00:11 – Letting strong ideas travel between products
• 02:49 – Giving each product its own design voice
• 07:26 – Bringing back old features when it makes sense
• 12:03 – Avoiding nostalgia just for the sake of it
• 17:55 – Using real-world use to guide product improvements
• 22:10 – Keeping your creative process flexible
• 23:57 – Leaving space for fun in the design
• 31:13 – Designing around feel instead of rules

Links and Resources

• Newcity Design magazine
• Segura Inc. (Carlos Segura’s Design Firm)
• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• Record a video question for the podcast
• Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com
• Books by 37signals
• HEY World | HEY
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X

Release day always looks smooth from the outside. Behind the scenes, there’s a lot packed into a short window. In this episode, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share how 37signals approaches the final stretch of putting a product out into the world, using Fizzy as a recent example. They talk about narrowing features, resisting the urge to hype dates too early, and why steady word of mouth matters more than chasing algorithms.

Key Takeaways

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 00:10 – How Fizzy’s launch came together
• 02:17 – Choosing what really needs to ship in V1
• 08:51 – The downside of announcing dates too far ahead
• 12:33 – How algorithms have reshaped marketing
• 23:37 – Building buzz through word of mouth
• 30:00 – It all comes down to building a solid product

Links and Resources

• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• Record a video question for the podcast
• 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

Open source has always played a big role at 37signals. This week, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share why they’re drawn to working in the open, and how that mindset carries into their newest product, Fizzy.

Key Takeaways

• 00:12 – Why open source continues to matter at 37signals
• 05:12 – Sharing work publicly pushes quality higher
• 09:55 – How open source fits into Fizzy’s SaaS setup
• 15:15 – Treating open source as a gift
• 19:41 – Getting direct feedback in unfamiliar but fun ways 
• 22:56 – How the team decides what goes into Fizzy and what doesn’t
• 24:34 – A Danish language lesson

Links and Resources

• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• Record a video question for the podcast
• 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

There’s a moment in every product where you have to stop tweaking and actually launch. This week, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson reflect on how 37signals decides when a product is truly ready for its first release. They share how they think about simplifying, sharpening, and ultimately knowing when it’s time to ship.

Key Takeaways

• 00:12 – Recognizing when a product is ready to meet the world
• 02:55 – Strip things back to the essentials first
• 07:32 – Weighing real-world feedback from early users
• 10:03 – Add the final layer of polish without overdoing it

Links and Resources

• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• "Quality: The Concept2 RowErg" from Jason's HEY World
• Record a video question for the podcast
• 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