How much data do you really need to make good decisions? In this episode of The REWORK Podcast, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson talk about 37signals’ evolving relationship with analytics—from working with a full-time analyst to now focusing only on the numbers that truly matter. They share why gut feeling, curiosity, and margin often outweigh dashboards and reports—and how trimming the data obsession can lead to better, bolder decisions.

Key Takeaways:

• 00:09 – The shift from having a full-time data analyst to working without one
• 02:25 – Just because you can’t measure it doesn’t mean it’s not important
• 07:59 – Analytics don’t always drive product decisions
• 10:15 – How financial margin fuels freedom to experiment
• 13:42 – Don’t let data make you overly cautious
• 15:26 – David’s take on cutting unnecessary costs
• 19:48 – Weighing cost vs. value when making decisions

Links and Resources:

• Record or upload a video question for Jason and David
• Get Basecamp for free at Basecamp.com
• Books by 37signals
• HEY World | HEY
• REWORK podcast merch
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X

In this episode of The REWORK Podcast, host Kimberly Rhodes puts 37signals co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson in the hot seat with a round of rapid-fire questions — from favorite apps and founder skills to customer requests and what's coming next.

Key Takeaways:

• 00:11 – Favorite software that Jason and David use (that they haven't built)
• 03:42 – Underrated skills every founder should develop
• 06:26 – Times they’ve completely changed their minds on a decision
• 14:05 – Customer feature requests that likely won’t ever happen
• 15:36 – A new 37signals product is on the way

Links and Resources:

• Screen Studio – https://screen.studio/
• Obsidian – https://obsidian.md/
• Get Basecamp for free at Basecamp.com
• Books by 37signals
• HEY World | HEY
• REWORK podcast merch
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X

Before anything ships at 37signals, the team puts it to the test—by using it themselves. In this episode of The REWORK Podcast, co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson talk about the importance of dogfooding, or using your own product before handing it off to customers. They share how this practice keeps them close to the real problems, and sometimes even kills off ideas that just don’t hold up.

Key Takeaways:

• 00:27 – Why every 37signals product is used internally before it ships
• 07:15 – Who makes the final call after internal feedback comes in
• 12:44 – The importance of building things you’ll actually use
• 16:48 – Some products and features don’t make it past internal testing

Links and Resources:

• “Doing what you think, not what you thought” from Jason Fried’s HEY World
• Get Basecamp for free at Basecamp.com
• Books by 37signals
• HEY World | HEY
• REWORK podcast merch
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X