Jason Fried
Co-founder, 37signals
Jason Fried is the co-founder and President of 37signals, the Chicago-based web-application company. He has co-authored all of 37signals' books, including the upcoming, "Rework," as well as the 'minimalist manifesto,' "Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application" He also helps to maintain the company's popular blog, Signal vs. Noise, and is regularly invited to speak around the world on entrepreneurship, design, management, and software.
Doing the Things that Really Matter Really Well
The things you really appreciate aren’t the complicated things. They’re the simple things that work just the way you expect them to.
Case Study: 37signals
The co-founder of the web application firm discusses common pitfalls of starting a new business and the need to be flexible with your business model.
Everything a Company Does Is “Marketing”
Making something great is the best marketing you’ll ever have. Once that’s done, just share everything you know to get the word out.
What Is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing means different things to different people, but basically it means that the software you use isn’t on your own personal computer, explains Fried in a 2 minute crash […]
Take Your Idea, Break It in Half
What good is Wi-Fi on a plane that’s always two hours late? Or a lavishly decorated room with an uncomfortable bed? Many entrepreneurs pay a price for enacting too ambitious […]
What Drug Dealers Can Teach the Digital World
Like drugs dealers, websites should give users just a taste for free—and then charge them for the real product once they’re hooked.
To Turn an Idea Into a Business, Keep It Simple
When creating a new business, take your big idea and chop it in half. And then chop it in half again. Rather than loading your product up with lots of […]
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What I Would Do Differently
I would only build the things that I need,” says Fried. “I’m really a big proponent of building products that we’re going to use.
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The Importance of Hiring Late
Always hire after you need someone, “after it hurts,” not before. When companies ramp up fast in anticipation of work to be done, it can be really hard to hire […]
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Weighing the Value of “Free”
When companies have a “free only” business model—thinking they’ll make money later—they’re usually betting that “there’s going to be this magic switch they can flip.”
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Common Mistakes That Start-ups Make
Competition doesn’t put start-ups out of business. Rather the businesses tend to put themselves out of business by hiring the wrong people, being afraid of making money, and spending too […]
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The Problem With VC-Funded Startups
Raising money upfront puts you in the wrong frame of mind. A ventured-backed company has to spend money. A self-funded, bootstrap company has to make money.
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The Modern Office Doesn’t Really Foster Collaboration
If you really want to get creative and work on something, you need uninterrupted stretches of quiet time. Jason Fried says you need to keep the distractions out.
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The Biggest Problem in the Traditional Workplace: Interruptions
It’s best if people stay away from each other while they are working, because when people are all together all the time, they tend to constantly interrupt each other.
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Big Think Interview With Jason Fried
A conversation with the co-founder and president of 37signals.
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Reality Bites, But Who Cares?
One of the most intolerable hang-ups is wondering whether something will “work in the real world.” As Jason Fried explains, it’s a depressing place where everything is slow, difficult, and […]
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Can Cloud Computing Change Everything?
The founder of 37signals defines cloud computing, its role in the future of computing, and the overblown anxiety around its security.
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Three Hot Tips for Web Developers
The founder of 37signals identifies the most promising opportunities for growth in programming.
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Why You Can’t Work at Work
With its constant commotion, unnecessary meetings, and infuriating wastes of time, the modern workplace makes us all work longer, less focused hours. Jason Fried explains how we can change all […]
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Scaling the Pitfalls of Silicon Valley
The tech-capital of the US is gushing with venture capital money. The problem? Many start-ups develop too strong a penchant for “free” and never actually become businesses. Jason Fried explains […]
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The Drug-Dealing Model of Online Business
The notion that advertising revenue can save content is looking increasingly untenable. Jason Fried explains why drug dealers and bakeries may have had the best business model all along.
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The Only Mission Statement That Matters: Solve a Real Problem
In a world obsessed with innovation and complexity, the value of simple solutions to essential problems is disastrously obscured.
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Big Think Interview With Jason Fried
A conversation with the co-founder of 37signals.
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