The right size net The moment one customer pays you a lot more than any other customer, you’re no longer a product company, you’re a services/consulting company again. When we launched the first version of Basecamp in 2004, we decided to build software for small companies just like us. We know how growing from four to six… keep reading
Business and Life Lessons with Teen Whisperer Josh Shipp I mastered the art of getting kicked out of foster homes. I would literally keep a notebook with how quickly I could get kicked out. It was like a game to me. And as he was heading into what would be his last foster home: My previous… keep reading
Illustration by Nate Otto Santa Fe, New Mexico is home to around 200 art galleries. Even in this thriving art scene, Nedra Matteucci’s gallery stands out. The 44-year-old gallery, which she bought in 1988, is housed in an adobe compound spanning two acres, and the business takes a grounded approach to fine art. If visiting the… keep reading
Don’t ask for permission, come with intent. I don’t read many business books, but last year I read one that had a profound effect on me: “Turn The Ship Around” by L. David Marquet. I guess it’s not really a business book, which is probably why I liked it. Here’s how it’s described on Amazon: “Leadership… keep reading
Here at Highrise, we hope our customers are incredibly happy. But every now and then we run into a tough case. For example, we now have Broadcast, a bulk email service. We keep it under tight control. If spam complaints or bounces go over our stringent limits, the ability to use Broadcast is paused. We… keep reading
Part Two of a conversation between small business owners Last week, we tried a new format with The Distance. We had the owners of Lively Athletics, a women’s apparel and running shoe store in Oak Park, Illinois, interview the owner of Starship, a long-time sandwich shop in the neighboring suburb of Forest Park. The first half… keep reading
We had millions of dollars in profits, but were bleeding customers. I had to do something, and fast. But what? A killer new design? Disruptive new features? Pic form Health Guage September 2012, Cadbury, a London-based chocolate and candy company, changed its Dairy Milk Chocolate bar. The bar had been the same since its debut in… keep reading
We’re kinda all over the place We’re a mostly-remote company. We have about 50 people spread out across 30 cities around the world. And while we’re mostly based all over the US, we have also have people in Canada, the UK, Spain, Germany, Hong Kong, and Australia. This means we don’t see each other very often.… keep reading
As the CEO of Know Your Team, I often get asked about my opinion on asking employees for anonymous feedback. Is it a useful approach? Would I recommend it? My answer is the same each time: I hate anonymous feedback. I hate giving it, and I hate receiving it. Here’s why. Anonymous feedback breeds a… keep reading
Walk into any startup office and you’ll see almost the exact same thing: a bunch of big televisions showing real-time dashboards. Traffic, tweets, leads, sales, revenue, application performance, support cases, satisfaction, A/B test results, open rates; you name it, there’s a real-time dashboard for it. Walk into Basecamp and you won’t see any of those,… keep reading