Blogs / Company blogs

Signal v. Noise

37signals.com

Popular posts
151
Total points
22,859
HN comments
10,833
Rank
#25 company

Visit 37signals.com → On Hacker News Apr 2007 – Apr 2024

Tech Industry & Business 104Startups 35Life, Learning & Writing 35Career & Management 33Society, Policy & Culture 28Design & UX 15

91

Why we disagree with Don Norman

Don Norman, an author, professor, and partner at the Nielsen Norman Group, read the Wired article about us and wrote a piece asking, “Why is 37signals so arrogant?” Hansson said: “I’m not designing… for other people.” I think that simple phrase speaks volumes.…

92

Start a business, not a startup

Startups can bring new ideas to market. They can give people a chance to change the world on their own terms. They can create something where nothing existed before. There is no doubt that they are exciting things to be a part of. But, as much as the tech world tries to treat them as special, we…

93

Mojito island is a mirage

Early retirement is a mirage when you’re physically and mentally capable of doing more. Humans are generally not built to derive sustainable happiness from sipping mojitos on a picturesque island somewhere in the pacific. Once you’ve tasted the sweetness of a dedicated purpose, it’…

95

Early Retirement is a False Idol

The classic argument for enduring 80 to 100 hour work weeks for years on end — sacrificing relationships, hobbies, and anything else that doesn’t progress the mission — is that at the end of the rainbow lies early retirement. The reward for risking it all on a crazy startup idea. …

96

Do it yourself first

You should never hire anyone for something you haven’t first struggled to do on your own. It’ll teach you most of what you need to know to actually interview candidates, it’ll allow you to understand the nature of the work better (do I even need to hire or can we outsource?), and …

100

Trust customers over VCs

Venture capitalists are glorified gamblers in the Ace-from-Casino sense of the word. They try their best to collect intel on the players, but ultimately still just place bets. Bets that usually fail more often than they succeed. It’s the 1-in-10 blowout payoff that makes sure the piano keeps …