REWORK

It's so easy to punt on something; to say, "let's wait until we have enough information to make the perfect decision." Perfect decisions don't exist, putting things off makes them pile up, and you'll end up getting absolutely nowhere. Very few decisions are set in stone. So, make calls as quickly as possible. Don't wait around for the perfect answer.

Show Notes

• 06:33 - Disagree and commit (Wikipedia)
• 07:37 - Six-week cycles (Shape Up)
• 15:13 - HEY World
• 18:19 - Performance indicator (Wikipedia)
• 18:29 - The Tyranny of Metrics - Jerry Z. Muller
• 19:14 - Notes from Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky
• 20:41 - Gary Vaynerchuk
• 20:51 - What's the ROI of your mother (garyvaynerchuk.com)

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

Before you start your great new business you'll NEED to hire some people, raise some money, rent an office, buy some ads, etc. etc. OF COURSE YOU DON'T. These are all just the trappings entrepreneurs tell themselves they need, when in reality, all you need is to start making something.

Show Notes

• 00:03 - Budweiser Wassup Commercial (YouTube)
• 01:28 - Dungeons & Dragons
• 05:34 - Coudal Partners
• 07:36 - Minimum Viable Product (Wikipedia)
• 09:00 - Gumroad
• 09:03 - Stripe
• 09:22 - Squarespace
• 09:24 - Mailchimp
• 17:33 - Basecamp Merch
• 23:07 - Fingerspitzengefühl (Wikipedia)

Taking outside money to start your business may seem like a good idea, but there are a ton of strings attached... You give up control. Cashing out becomes the #1 priority. It's addictive. It's usually a bad deal. Customers become less important than investors... You get the idea. Outside money should never be plan A.

Show Notes

• 03:15 - How WhatsApp Makes Money (Investopedia)
• 13:28 - 37signals changing name to Basecamp, shedding products (Chicago Tribune)
• 22:40 - The deal Jeff Bezos got on Basecamp (Signal v. Noise)