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Jason Fried

Co-founder and CEO of 37signals, maker of Basecamp, HEY and ONCE

@jasonfried Chicago, United States5.3M followersSaaS FoundersProductivity ToolsEducators & Course Creators

About Jason Fried

Jason Fried is the co-founder and CEO of 37signals, the Chicago software company behind Basecamp, the HEY email service and the ONCE line of buy-once, self-hosted software. He started 37signals as a web design firm in the late 1990s and turned it into a product company after Basecamp, originally an internal project-management tool, took off in 2004.

37signals has stayed small, profitable and privately owned for more than two decades, which has made Fried one of the best-known advocates of calm, bootstrapped companies. Together with David Heinemeier Hansson he has written several books on running a business this way, including Getting Real, Rework, Remote and It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work.

Fried describes himself as a non-serial entrepreneur: rather than starting and selling companies, he has run the same one for his whole career, launching new products from inside it.

Products by Jason Fried

Basecamp logo

Basecamp

basecamp.com

Project management and team communication tool for small businesses.

HEY logo

HEY

hey.com

Paid email and calendar service with screening of first-time senders and a reimagined inbox.

ONCE logo

ONCE

once.com

Line of software you pay for once and host yourself, starting with Campfire group chat.

Videos with Jason Fried

Interviews & press

Timeline

  1. 2004 — 37signals launched Basecamp and shifted from client work to products.
  2. 2010 — Published Rework with David Heinemeier Hansson.
  3. 2020 — Launched the HEY email service.
  4. 2023 — Launched ONCE, a line of buy-once self-hosted software.

How Jason builds

  • Stay small, profitable and independent instead of chasing growth at all costs.
  • Calm work beats long hours and constant urgency.
  • Build less, and make what you build simpler.
  • Run one company for the long haul rather than flipping startups.

Learn from Jason Fried

[book]

Rework

Book with David Heinemeier Hansson on building a business without the usual startup playbook.

by Jason Fried

Jason Fried FAQ

What is Jason Fried known for?

Jason Fried co-founded and runs 37signals, the company behind Basecamp, HEY and ONCE, and co-wrote the business books Rework and It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work.

Is 37signals venture funded?

No. 37signals is privately owned by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson and has been profitable for most of its history without raising venture capital rounds.

What books has Jason Fried written?

With David Heinemeier Hansson he wrote Getting Real, Rework, Remote and It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work.

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