REWORK

Following up on an earlier conversation about AI, this episode shifts to the product side of the discussion. Host Kimberly Rhodes chats with 37signals CEO and co-founder Jason Fried about his daily AI use, what it's helped him do more efficiently, customer expectations, and how he's thinking about AI's role in future product updates.

Key Takeaways

• 00:12 – Putting AI tools to work
• 06:42 – Using AI to reclaim time, no...

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 ...

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'...

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 b...

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 Basecam...

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...

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 –...

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...

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 algorith...

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
• 19:4...

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 ...

How do you land on the right price for a product? This week, 37signals co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson pull back the curtain on the pricing choices they’ve made over the years, including the options the public never saw. They talk about why chasing giant enterprise deals isn’t for them, and why simple, steady pricing beats clever tricks.

Key Takeaways

• 00:11 – The pricing experiments over the years
• 10:48 – Why ...

Twice a year, the entire 37signals team meets up in person. This week, co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson talk about how these gatherings work, what they’re really for, and why the structure is intentionally loose. They share how the mix of optional hangouts and focused work sessions helps their fully remote team reconnect, recharge, and solve problems face-to-face.

Key Takeaways

• 00:14 – How 37signals approaches...

This week, the team shares a behind-the-scenes look at how they bring in outside beta testers before a product launch. Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share how they invite early users into the mix, what they’re looking for, and how it all shapes the final version. It’s a rare peek into the “guests are coming over” phase of building Fizzy.

Key Takeaways

• 00:12 – Inside Fizzy’s early access phase
• 02:28 – Selecting beta test...

In software development, there are updates, and then there are complete overhauls. This week, Jason Fried joins Kimberly Rhodes to talk about how the team decides when it’s time to rebuild from the ground up. They dig into the transition between versions, how customer feedback fits in, and even drop a few hints about what’s coming in Basecamp 5.

Key Takeaways

• 00:10 – A walk through of Basecamp's evolution
• 03:00 – How to recog...

With the launch of Fizzy getting closer, 37signals co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson use this episode to answer listener questions about the upcoming product. They talk about how Fizzy and Basecamp will coexist, why aesthetic design choices matter, and which AI features are actually worth using.

Key Takeaways

• 00:11 – Fizzy and Basecamp, competitors or complementary?
• 02:00 – Finding the right tools that fit your ...

Time has a way of reshaping what we believe, and sometimes, what we’ve published. In this week’s episode, CEO and co-founder Jason Fried chats with Kimberly Rhodes to explore one particular chapter of REWORK that no longer rings true. Jason reflects on their current stance on having multiple products vs. just one, what company's should consider before they expand, and why knowing your limits still matters.

Key Takeaways

• 00:1...

For 37signals, flashy ad campaigns and traditional brand promos have never been the way to go. This week, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share why traditional marketing methods like billboards, paid social media posts, and keyword ads don’t give them results. They talk about how meaningful marketing comes from genuine support and real connection.

Key Takeaways

• 00:12 – Why marketing ROI looks different for every business
• ...

Trust is the foundation of any strong company. In this episode of The REWORK Podcast, 37signals co-founder and CTO David Heinemeier Hansson joins host Kimberly Rhodes to explore what it really means to build a high-trust organization. David shares how trust shapes the culture and success of a team, even when working remotely.

Key Takeaways

• 00:23 – Trust starts as the default at 37signals
• 05:19 – Empowering employees with reasonabl...