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Scaling Basecamp to Millions in Revenue (David Heinemeier Hansson | 37signals)

If there ever was a hot topic about a certain technology trend, David Heinemeier Hansson probably wrote about it or shared his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter).

DHH is best known as the creator of Ruby on Rails and the co-founder of 37signals, a company behind Basecamp and HEY. He is also an avid blogger, a published author, and a LeMan-winning race car driver.

During our recent visit to SXSW 2024 in Austin, TX, we sat down with DHH and discussed what it takes to scale a technology product to millions of users and how he and his co-founder, Jason Fried, have been doing it continuously for almost 20 years.

David emphasized the importance of swimming against the current and exploring alternative approaches in business. He also discussed the challenges of being wrong, the value of building trust through admitting mistakes, and the need to constantly reevaluate strategies in a rapidly changing market.

Furthermore, our guest highlighted the significance of simplicity in scaling businesses, advocating for a focus on profitability and efficiency rather than unnecessary complexity.

In the end, he shared his views on why we can’t have everything as a SaaS these days and why more founders should advocate for affordable products over expensive monthly services – emphasizing the need for competition and innovation in the SaaS industry.

Interested in the whole talk? Click the video below or find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or Pocket Casts!

Marko Mudrinic
Global Developer Content Expert