Jason Fried

Founder & CEO at 37signals (makers of Basecamp and HEY). Non-serial entrepreneur, serial author (Getting Real, REWORK, REMOTE, It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work). Email me at jason@hey.com.

Co-founder & CEO

THE BIG REGRESSION

My folks are in town visiting us for a couple months so we rented them a house nearby.

It’s new construction. It’s amped up with state of the art systems. The ones with touchscreens of various sizes, IoT appliances, and interfaces on everything.

And it’s terrible. What a regression.

The lights are powered by Control4. They require a demo to understand how to use the switches, understand which ones control what, and to be sure not to hit THAT ONE because it’ll turn off all the lights in the house when you didn’t mean to. Worse.

The TV is the latest Samsung which has a baffling UI just to watch CNN. My parents aren’t idiots, but definitely feel like they’re missing something obvious. They aren’t — TVs have simply gotten worse. You don’t turn them on, you boot them up.

The new Miele dishwasher wouldn’t even operate the first time without connecting it to an app. This meant another call to the house manager to have them install an app they didn’t know they needed either. An app to clean some peanut butter off a plate? For serious? Worse.

Thermostats... Nest would have been fine, but these other proprietary ones from some other company trying to be Nest-like are baffling. Round touchscreens that take you into a dark labyrinth of options just to be sure it’s set at 68. Or is it 68 now? Or is that what we want it at, but it’s at 72? Wait... What? Which number is this? Worse.

The alarm system is essentially a 10” iPad bolted to the wall that has the fucking weather forecast on it. And it's so bright! I’m sure there’s a way to turn that off, but then the screen would be filled with the news instead. Why isn't this just the alarm? Worse.

And there's lag and delay everywhere. Everything feels a beat or two behind. Lag is the giveaway that the system is working too hard for too little.

Now look... I’m no luddite. But this experience is close to conversion therapy. Tech can make things better, but not here. I’ve heard the pitches — you can set up scenes so one button can change EVERYTHING. Not buying it. It actually feels primitive, like we haven’t figured out how to make things easy yet. That some breakthrough will eventually come when you can simply knock a switch up or down and it’ll all makes sense.

It’s really the contrast that makes it alarming. We just got back from a vacation in Montana. Rented a house there. They did have a fancy TV — seems those can’t be avoided these days — but everything else was old school and clear. Physical up/down light switches in the right places. Appliances without the internet. Buttons with depth and physically-confirmed state change rather than surfaces that don’t obviously register your choice. More traditional round rotating Honeywell thermostats that are just clear and obvious. No tours, no instructions, no questions, no fearing you’re going to do something wrong, no wondering how something works. Useful and universally clear. That’s human, that’s modern.

The original Cuisinart was peak interface/appliance design.

Two perfect paddle buttons.

One for ON that catches and stays down for continual operation.

And one for PULSE/OFF that does exactly what it says. It doesn't stay down, it returns to reset when you let go. Hold it down as long as you want to pulse. Let go and it stops. Or just push it down to disengage ON, and turn it off.

The description may sound a bit convoluted because of the dual purpose PULSE/OFF button, but when you use it it's absolutely obvious. And couldn't be better.

Big flat toggle buttons under satisfying tension. Clear affordances. You push them down, not in. One click catches, one doesn't. You can use them with bare hands, oven mitts, fingers coated in slippery whatever. Doesn't matter. Plenty of surface area.

Outstanding design. It's been all downhill from there.

ANYTHING DESIGNERS

Do designers like Raymond Lowey or Henry Dreyfus exist anymore? Designers who can design anything?

These guys designed locomotives, thermostats, telephones, buildings, ocean liners, company logos, typewriters, vacuum cleaners, floor polishers, product packaging, cars, bottles, aircraft interiors, livery, stamps, radios, tractors, even space station interiors!

The depth, breadth, quality, and taste of their work is astonishing. Where are these people today? Who are these people today? Who's working across so many different industries, mediums, product types, and categories at such a high level?

https://lnkd.in/gKC2UYFt
https://lnkd.in/gd5G-PSJ

What's your longest software relationship?

Basecamp and I have been together since 2008. We've never even discussed seeing other project management tools.

It helped me win student body president at Northwestern. I launched the very first coding bootcamp with it and orchestrated a Chicago mayoral campaign on it. It powered every course I've taught, and every Techstars program I've managed. Now it's how we run customer discovery at Shokuna, with some AI automations I've wired up on top of it.

37signals has been building for the web since 1999. They launched Basecamp  in 2004. And now I'm watching Jason tease "Basecamp 5" like it's a Marvel post-credits scene.

So now I'm curious: What software has actually stuck for you? Not what IT force-fed you - what you chose, kept choosing, and would mass-email your complaints about if they ever killed it?

Prodigy

We help local BPO companies attract talent by:
• creating compelling and accurate brand strategy and messaging,
• designing a brand identity that'll make them stand out,
• and executing digital and outdoor promotions.

President and CEO

Starling Digital

A sub-brand of Prodigy Digital Agency Inc., Starling Digital is a creative agency designed for local micro and small businesses looking to expand their social media presence while building momentum.

If you're an early-stage brand looking for affordable packages to lay the foundation with, then Starling is for you.

President

Pendulum Insights

We help successful online coaches launch and sell courses by:
• protecting them from shiny object syndrome and keeping them focused on their niche,
• supporting them with content creation, 
• and handling all the tech and funnel setup needed to run successful online courses.

Cyzerg

I am in charge of creating, implementing, and iterating B2B SaaS marketing strategies using Account-Based Marketing and SEO best practices.

Digital Marketing Executive

Holy Angel University

I teach advertising, marketing, copywriting, design, organizational communication, and production.

Teacher

Philippine-Sundt Construction and Development Corporation

Cadet Engineer

My clients work with me to figure out their brand strategy (who they are, what they do, who they serve, and why it matters) and how to communicate it effectively with the right message, design, and execution. 

I love helping them find that sweet spot, that overlap, between strategy and creativity. To say all the right things but make them interesting. To be clear and clever at the same time. 

I love how Bill Bernbach explains it: "Dullness won't sell your product, but neither will irrelevant brilliance."

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