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