BooksGetting Real
Getting Real details the business, design, programming, and marketing principles of 37signals. The book is packed with keep-it-simple insights, contrarian points of view, and unconventional approaches to software design. This is not a technical book or a design tutorial, it's a book of ideas. Anyone working on a web app - including entrepreneurs, designers, programmers, executives, or marketers - will find value and inspiration in this book. 37signals used the Getting Real process to launch five successful web-based applications (Basecamp, Campfire, Backpack, Writeboard, Ta-da List), and Ruby on Rails, an open-source web application framework, in just two years with no outside funding, no debt, and only 7 people (distributed across 7 time zones). Over 500,000 people around the world use these applications to get things done. Now you can find out how they did it and how you can do it too. It's not as hard as you think if you Get Real.
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Practical web design methodologies and minimalist software management principles form the foundation of influential business literature focused on productivity and lean operations. Jason Fried, a Chicago-based entrepreneur and executive, transformed modern software management and workplace culture through a series of pragmatic business guides. His co-authored work, including ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever, challenges conventional corporate habits by promoting calm, focused, and streamlined business operations.
In 1999, Fried co-founded the Chicago web design firm 37signals alongside Ernest Kim and Carlos Segura. The company shifted its focus to web application development and launched its flagship project management tool, Basecamp. In 2014, the firm renamed itself Basecamp to focus exclusively on its main application, before reverting its name back to 37signals in May 2022 to encompass both Basecamp and its email product, HEY. Throughout this growth, Fried served as president and CEO, establishing an operational model centered on profitability, remote collaboration, and sustainable workplace practices.
Fried's writing rejects traditional corporate bureaucracy in favor of software minimalism and lean operational strategies. Rather than viewing restraint as a temporary compromise, he advocates for an approach where fewer features and smaller teams yield superior software products. His publications frequently critique long meetings, excessive working hours, and reliance on venture capital. Beyond his books, Fried has shared his management philosophy as a monthly columnist for Inc. Magazine in his column titled Getting Real, as well as through 37signals' long-running corporate blog, Signal vs. Noise.
