Rework

Basecamp has closed its physical office after a 10-year run in Chicago's West Loop area. In this episode, we say good-bye to the neighborhood and two of its businesses. J.P. Graziano and un-cooked are small, family-owned restaurants on either side of the longevity spectrum: Jim Graziano is the fourth-generation owner of an Italian food importer-turned-sandwich shop, and Jeremy Jones opened his vegan grab-and-go place with his mother and wife in July. Jim and Jeremy talk about weathering the pandemic as independent restaurant owners.Show NotesOur previous episode about closing the Chicago office - 00:21J.P. Graziano Grocery Company website | Instagram | Twitter - 2:15un-cooked website | Instagram - 7:29Collective Resource Compost - 12:27Strength in the City | fundraising campaign for their mentorship program with SRV - 20:17Taste Real Chicago - 34:03

A group of startup founders, investors, and thinkers are reimagining corporate ownership to take into account all of the people who help build the business—not just executives and investors, but customers, users, and suppliers. Their vision for Exit to Community is outlined in this zine, and two of its authors come on Rework to talk about their vision for a more equitable and inclusive end game for tech startups.Show NotesZebras Unite website | Twitter - 1:18"Exit to Community: A Community Primer" zine - 1:24Mara Zepeda on Twitter | Mara's previous interview on Rework - 1:52Hearken and Switchboard's merger - 1:56Nathan Schneider's website | Nathan on Twitter - 2:11Media Enterprise Design Lab - 2:17"Meetup to the People: How a Zebra could Rise from a Unicorn's Fall" (Medium) - 4:41"Meetup was a darling of the tech industry. But can it survive WeWork?" (NBC News) - 4:45ESOP - 10:49The #WeAreTwitter #Buy Twitter campaign - 20:17Exit to Community peer learning coh

We're back from our August hiatus! To kick things off, we have a conversation with Tara Reed, the CEO of Apps Without Code. She started an online art advising business without knowing how to code, and that early success led to an entire company and educational program that teaches others how to do the same. Tara talks about her career, the tools she uses, and why she hates the term "non-technical founder."Show NotesSelling Sunset on Netflix - 00:42The Hills - 00:54 A BuzzFeed News profile of the reality show producer behind Selling Sunset and The Hills - 1:04Columbo - 1:30IMDb TV - 1:40Wailin discusses her idea for an app to help you choose a streaming provider at the end of this episode - 1:56Tara Reed on Twitter | LinkedIn - 2:36Apps Without Code - 2:41Google Offers - 4:06"Sources: Groupon rejects Google's $5 billion offer" (story co-written by Wailin in the Chicago Tribune, 2010) - 4:10Kollecto - 5:05Strikingly - 6:57Kollecto on Product Hunt - 8:02Kollecto on BetaList - 8:03Su

Basecamp co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson sparked a national controversy this week when he posted a series of livid tweets about how his wife received a much lower credit limit than he did on their Apple Cards, despite applying with the same financial information. What began as a rant against opaque algorithms turned into a regulatory investigation and more. In this episode, Dr. Ruha Benjamin of Princeton University and entrepreneur Mara Zepeda, co-founder of the XXcelerate Fund and Zebras Unite, talk about how the tech and financial sectors perpetuate systemic inequalities and how to start repairing the damage—or building something more equitable and inclusive from the ground up.

In the spring of 2019, Danny Caine, the owner of the Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas, overheard a customer saying she could buy a new hardcover online for $15. Danny took to Twitter to explain the economics of independent bookstores and the thread went viral, putting the 32-year-old small business in the national spotlight. Danny comes on Rework to talk about why his activism and outspoken stance against Amazon haven’t just felt right, but been good for business too.

Basecamp co-founder and Chief Technology Officer David Heinemeier Hansson has been ranting on Twitter about monopolistic practices in Big Tech for a while, and he recently got an unexpected opportunity to air his grievances about Google, Apple, and Facebook in front of a congressional subcommittee. In this episode, David debriefs on his experience and Basecamp’s data analyst, Jane Yang, talks about her work helping David prepare for his appearance.

Basecamp probably wouldn't exist today if not for an email that David Heinemeier Hansson sent Jason Fried in 2001. That correspondence was the beginning of a partnership that produced Basecamp, several books, and most recently HEY, the company's new email service. This episode is our love letter to email. Hear from David and Jason, as well as other artists, writers, and founders about the emails that changed their lives.Show NotesHEY - 00:11Our episodes on how HEY was...conceived - 00:15...designed - 00:16...branded - 00:17...launched - 00:18Jason Fried on Twitter | DHH on Twitter - 1:06The 37signals manifesto - 1:35Signal v. Noise - 1:58Saya Hillman on Twitter | Instagram - 4:53Saya's company, Mac & Cheese Productions - 4:57Rick Cosgrove - 8:50Agency EA - 8:54Samsung Developer Conference - 9:12Julie Wernau on Twitter - 11:41Mike McGee on Twitter - 16:26AnitaB.org - 16:32Neal Sáles-Griffin on Twitter - 16:37Mike recounted the story of founding Code Academy (later renamed The Starter League)

Basecamp released its new email service, HEY, on June 15. It was supposed to be a calm, controlled product launch, but what followed was a period that CEO Jason Fried described as "chaotic, enthralling, (and) horrible." Basecamp got into a public fight with Apple over the HEY iOS app and the customer support team made emergency hires to help with an unprecedented caseload—all during a turbulent time for the world at large. This is the story of those two weeks, in the voices of the people who fixed bugs, answered customer emails, fended off security threats, and pulled off one of the most audacious undertakings in company history.Show NotesHEY - 00:30David Heinemeier Hansson on Twitter - 00:50Jason Fried on Twitter - 1:22Kristin on Twitter - 3:21Javan on Twitter - 3:53Jason's HEY demo on YouTube - 4:21HEY's desktop apps - 5:26Dylan on Twitter - 7:09Zach on Twitter - 8:37David's "burn this house down" tweet - 12:03Protocol's coverage of Apple's rejection - 14:21Macin

Basecamp co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson held a recent livestream session where they answered questions about HEY, the company's new email service. You can listen to Part 1 or watch the entire livestream on YouTube.Show NotesQ1: What's the timeframe on new features? - 00:38HEY for Work - 00:50Shape Up - 1:13Apple vs. HEY - 4:33It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy At Work - 6:07Q2: How did you get HEY.com? - 7:12"How we acquired HEY.com" (Signal v. Noise) - 7:30Q3: When would you say you've taken on Gmail? - 9:53Q4: What's the environmental impact of HEY? - 14:14Data analyst Jane Yang's SvN post on carbon negativity - 15:45Q5: It's been crazy at work for the last couple weeks. How do you get back to normal? - 15:52Q6: Now that you have two products, are you concerned with context switching in the future? - 17:38Q7: What's the problem with "inbox zero?" - 20:04Q8: How could I possibly move to HEY with 16 years of emails in Gmail? - 24:10HEY

Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson held a livestream session where they answered audience questions about Hey, Basecamp's new email service. In Part One, they discuss feature requests, customer support, and plans for hiring. The full Q&A can be viewed on YouTube.Show NotesHEY.com - 00:10Jason Fried on Twitter | DHH on Twitter - 00:24Jason and David's remote work Q&A, Part 1 and Part 2 - 1:03Q1: What's your suggestion for managing the Feed? - 1:29Q2: What are you going to do about signatures? - 5:03Q3: What's a feature you've gotten the most requests for that you won't bring to HEY? - 6:13Q4: Who led UI/UX for HEY, and do you do any user research? - 8:48Q5: What's the intended purpose of the Previously Seen section? - 9:57Q6: Having support with actual humans for an email service seems unique. Are you planning to lean into that with your marketing? - 11:33Q7: What's your vision for enterprise HEY adoption? - 13:49Q8: What about accessibility? - 16:11Q9: Wha

Basecamp's marketing designer, Adam Stoddard, talks about how Hey's visual brand came to be. He discusses influences from Pixar to Charles and Ray Eames to The Raveonettes, and reflects on what it's like to work as a department of one on such an all-encompassing project.Show NotesManos: The Hands of Fate - 00:04Mystery Science Theater 3000 - 00:07Our previous episode "Hey, What's Going On?" with Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson giving an overview of Hey - 00:35Our previous episode "Designing Hey" with Jonas Downey - 00:38Our previous episode "An Email Account Is Born" with Merissa Dawson, on creating a demo account - 00:40Adam Stoddard on Twitter - 00:58Hey.com - 1:08"Screen emails like you screen calls" - 2:59"How it works" - 4:25Toy Story of Terror! - 8:42Procreate app - 9:27Charles and Ray Eames - 16:22A 2003 article about The Raveonettes albums that are written with just three chords and in one key - 21:12

To show off the features of HEY, Basecamp's new email service, we needed a fully featured and realistic demo account. That meant writing dozens of fictional emails—a task that fell to Merissa of Basecamp's customer support team. She comes on Rework to talk about her epistolary opus.Show NotesHEY website | @heyhey on Twitter - 00:22Team OMG - 1:39Notes to self feature - 5:32Clips feature - 5:35Reply Later feature - 5:42Screener feature - 5:51Fitzgerald "Fitz" Grant - 9:13"'A Star Is Born' and the Enduring Appeal of 'I Just Wanted to Take Another Look At You'" (Film School Rejects) - 9:29

Basecamp design lead Jonas Downey was one of the first people to experiment with what would eventually become Hey, Basecamp’s newly launched email service. Jonas comes on Rework to talk about building software for humans, preserving a sense of fun weirdness as a new product evolves, and managing a big launch during a tumultuous time.Show NotesHey - 00:21Our previous episode about Hey, featuring Basecamp co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson - 00:27Apple vs. Hey - 00:40Jonas Downey on Twitter - 00:56Prairienet - 1:36Basecamp’s book on a calm workplace - 19:20

Basecamp has launched Hey, a new email platform with a strong point of view. It's also one of the stupidest things Basecamp has ever attempted. Co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson talk about the philosophy around time, attention, and privacy that forms the backbone of Hey, why Inbox Zero is a tyrannical scam, and what Hey does differently. Show NotesHey.com | the Hey manifesto - 00:14Jason Fried on Twitter - 00:34DHH on Twitter - 00:48Jason and Ryan Singer discussed Hey's origins in Highrise in this product strategy Q&A - 3:20"Highrise is back with Basecamp" (Signal v. Noise) - 3:44Our previous episode about pixel tracking - 20:04Our previous episode talking about Superhuman - 24:01Ian Malcolm's "Your scientists..." clip from Jurassic Park - 30:45

On June 15, Basecamp launches a new email service called Hey. One of its features is that it blocks tracking pixels that report back to the sender when and how you read an email. In this episode, Basecamp's marketing team talks about their difficult search for an email newsletter provider that doesn't track subscribers. And Nabiha Syed, president of the new investigative journalism outlet The Markup, talks about their commitment to data minimization—including zero tracking, not even open rates, on their newsletters—and how that affects their relationship with readers.Show NotesBasecamp’s newsletter - 2:34Hey - 3:05Andy Didorosi on Twitter - 3:29Farnam Street newsletter - 5:47Adam Stoddard on Twitter - 7:23Mailchimp's postcard program | Opt out of receiving postcards - 9:21Sendy.co - 12:34Nabiha Syed's bio | Twitter - 14:04The Markup - 14:06The Markup's privacy policy - 14:28Nabiha’s letter - 16:27Martijn de Kuijper on Twitter | Revue - 18:40

Andy Hunter launched Bookshop.org in January as a platform to help independent bookstores take and fulfill online orders. Shortly afterward, the pandemic forced small businesses to close their physical doors and Bookshop.org found itself trying to manage three years of growth in three months. Andy comes on the show for a deep dive into how his business works, monopoly power in the book industry, and what steps Bookshop is taking to make sure growth and success don't compromise their mission.Show NotesAnnihilation by Jeff VanderMeer - 1:27"Nevermore, Amazon," our episode about The Raven Book Store - 2:06Andy Hunter on Twitter - 2:44Bookshop website | Twitter | Instagram - 2:44Catapult | Counterpoint | Soft Skull Press - 3:28Lit Hub - 3:32Ingram - 6:21Certified B Corporation - 9:25Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C. - 10:18Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, CO - 10:19Powell’s Books in Portland, OR - 10:20IndieBound - 13:30Morgan Entrekin - 15:34HappyFunCorp - 18:36Libro.fm - 19:37H

The pandemic has caused enormous job losses and forced many companies to rethink the nature of work. In this episode, two Stanford students talk about the online resource they built to help fellow students whose summer internships were canceled, and Wildbit CEO Natalie Nagele returns to Rework to discuss the launch of People-First Jobs, a job board that connects seekers with human-centered companies.Show NotesAkshaya Dinesh's website | LinkedIn | Twitter - 1:10Andrew Tan's website | LinkedIn | Twitter - 1:28Verkada - 3:36LinkedIn post announcing the mentorship program - 5:36Remote Students - 8:10People-First Jobs website | Twitter - 10:17Wildbit - 10:21Natalie Nagele on Twitter - 10:30COVID-19 Resources on People-First Jobs - 17:27our recent episode about banning makers of employee surveillance technology - 18:53Kitty Hawk - 20:20

A growing number of companies have turned to employee surveillance software to monitor their newly remote workforce. Basecamp, which has taken a hardline stance against surveillance of all kinds, decided to ban makers of this "tattleware" from integrating with our products. Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson comes on the show to talk about how a special "Moral Quandaries" team at the company made the decision and how surveillance systems poison the future of remote work.Show NotesAwair air quality monitor - 00:34A presentation by DHH on "Why Air Quality Matters" - 1:15DHH on Twitter - 1:55Basecamp Terms of Service  -2:37Until the End of the Internet policy - 2:46Basecamp API - 3:54basecamp.com/extras - 4:09Article by Drew Harwell of the Washington Post about employee surveillance - 5:10REMOTE: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson - 8:53The surveillance illustration from REMOTE - 9:00 GitHub repository for Basecamp policies - 14:00Signal v. Noise post

The government may not consider comic book shops, indoor plant stores, and small boutiques "essential," but these businesses are vital to the unique fabric of their neighborhoods and downtowns. Without foot traffic, they're finding new ways to connect with customers and stay afloat, all while navigating supply chain disruptions and e-commerce logistics. Show NotesAlleyCat Comics website | Facebook | Instagram - 0:55Mighty Con - 1:36"New Comics Delayed Across Industry in Wake of Coronavirus Concerns" (The Hollywood Reporter) - 2:10Our previous episodes about small businesses and COVID covered fitness studios and family-oriented businesses - 2:37Hearth & Hammer General Store website | Facebook | Instagram - 3:29Walden Woods candle - 4:22The Zen Succulent website | Facebook | Instagram  - 8:00Modern Terrarium Studio by Megan George - 9:01Jordan Grace Owens website | collaboration with The Zen Succulent - 10:36Claire Daniel website | picture of her installation at The Zen Succulent -

We call up our friend and former colleague Esther Lee, who lives with her husband on a 35-foot sailboat named Hope in Jacksonville, Florida. Esther, an "idealist in hiding," talks about how living smaller gives her more space to turn outward and care for others, especially now.Show NotesEsther's bio at the Poetry Foundation - 00:25The Minimalists - 3:30Sailrite sewing machines - 9:30eXXpedition - 13:32eXXpedition's João Pessoa to Barbados leg has been rescheduled to 2022 - 13:45Sacrificial Metal by Esther Lee - 14:22Rudolf Laban - 14:52Wayfinders Now on Instagram | website - 17:55