I like studying. I like listening to audiobooks, reading books and watching interviews. I especially like getting the input of a select few brilliant minds in the tech world who actually make sense to me. There are very few “dot com” companies that make sense—and I think the term “dot com” is thrown around carelessly as an excuse for poor business practices. (And that’s coming from me—whose company name ends in “dot com”!)
37signals is one of the very few businesses I’ve seen that does it the right way. Their two main players, Jason Fried and David Henemeier Hansson, are both brilliant. (It’s actually a secret goal of mine to work at 37signals someday in the future). I like them for several reasons, not the least of which is that I use their software and really like it.
There are a lot of interviews with Jason Fried out there, but this one I found is excellent. It’s about half an hour, clear, and to the point. (And on a less important note, this is some of the best videography I’ve ever seen for an online interview.)
This interview is great because Jason talks about the core values of 37signals, things like hiring, bootstrapping your startup, marketing, cloud computing, and their take on the “free” model. And his business sense is keen: as a former hiring manager myself, I’m pleasantly surprised that he’s got a great handle on hiring. Hiring is the biggest time-suck and the biggest liability a company can ever have. Watch closely around 23:00 where he discusses “the importance of hiring late.”
Great interview, great questions, and even greater answers. Brilliant.
Note: If you’re having a hard time viewing the embedded video, click here to view the original.