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Why is 37Signals always the counter-example?

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11–20 of 31 posts

Re: Why is 37Signals always the counter-example?

#11
post #3

It's their narrative for getting attention. That is all. Someone once mentioned how it was clever they (tiny, unknown little company) always pit themselves against well known things (Microsoft, Apple, VC X) to try and become more legitimate over time.

That, and the fact that they don't want to dilute what they say by considering too many viewpoints. They expect you as readers to do that.

Re: Why is 37Signals always the counter-example?

#13
post #5
post #3

It's their narrative for getting attention. That is all. Someone once mentioned how it was clever they (tiny, unknown little company) always pit themselves against well known things (Microsoft, Apple, VC X) to try and become more legitimate over time.

They also claim that they don't want to grow. That every business has a 'natural' size. That somehow that's better than being massive - again challenging the conventional wisdom that more profit = better. They are masters of PR to geeks. Their business model pretty much relies on them doing constant PR to pit themselves as the hip small but hugely knowledgeable 'startup'. Even the back cover of Rework reads like a pa…

Why is that a problem?

Handful of guys doing what they like. Earning enough to pay for a modest lifestyle and I bet they get to put something away for old age.

Why does earning a living have to be an unpleasant and stressful experience?

By writing and talking about how awesome cool their careers are, they get to boost their sales. Hell, I think I might start writing about how awesome my life is.

Re: Why is 37Signals always the counter-example?

#15
I annoys me that people never seem to realize that 37Signals is a company that has "won the lottery", as David likes to say when pejoratively describing the success of companies that have chosen a different route, in a major way with Ruby on Rails. The popularity of Rails is a huge contributing factor to the success of 37Signals. And without Rails, nobody would ever have picked up any of their books. 37Signals is a popular counter-example because they promote themselves, and the vast majority of their ability to promote themselves through talks and books is direct result of hitting a grand slam with Rails.

Re: Why is 37Signals always the counter-example?

#16
They're not a counter-example. They're just an example.

Anyway the question is rhetorical since you know the answer is "to pick a fight", which you openly admit to doing yourself right here : http://remarkablogger.com/2010/05/03/how-i-got-50k-visitors-...

The linkbait is starting to smell a little fishy :(

Re: Why is 37Signals always the counter-example?

#17
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also claim that they don't want to grow. That every business has a 'natural' size. That somehow that's better than being massive - again challenging the conventional wisdom that more profit = better. They are masters of PR to geeks. Their business model pretty much relies on them doing constant PR to pit themselves as the hip small but hugely knowledgeable 'startup'. Even the back cover of Rework reads like a pa…

Why is that a problem? Handful of guys doing what they like. Earning enough to pay for a modest lifestyle and I bet they get to put something away for old age. Why does earning a living have to be an unpleasant and stressful experience? By writing and talking about how awesome cool their careers are, they get to boost their sales. Hell, I think I might start writing about how awesome my life is.

Unless your definition of a "modest lifestyle" includes driving a Lamborghini (http://www.google.com/search?q=dhh+lamborghini), I'd say 37signals is doing very well financially. And that's probably because they're intentionally staying small, not in spite of it.

Re: Why is 37Signals always the counter-example?

#18
> I'm tired of the startup elitism culture.

You have no clue how necessary it is. They are elitist.

They have taken on something most others haven't because, they are intelligent and willing to bet on their own abilities. That alone puts them in a rare percentage of elite.

Re: Why is 37Signals always the counter-example?

#19
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also claim that they don't want to grow. That every business has a 'natural' size. That somehow that's better than being massive - again challenging the conventional wisdom that more profit = better. They are masters of PR to geeks. Their business model pretty much relies on them doing constant PR to pit themselves as the hip small but hugely knowledgeable 'startup'. Even the back cover of Rework reads like a pa…

Why is that a problem? Handful of guys doing what they like. Earning enough to pay for a modest lifestyle and I bet they get to put something away for old age. Why does earning a living have to be an unpleasant and stressful experience? By writing and talking about how awesome cool their careers are, they get to boost their sales. Hell, I think I might start writing about how awesome my life is.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with it at all. There are millions of small businesses doing exactly that. There always have been. Most of them just quietly get on with it and make profit.

For me, 37signals don't say anything new or very interesting. They just say it really loudly, and try to make out that they're doing something radically different - when in fact they're not.

Re: Why is 37Signals always the counter-example?

#20
(a) Because we're pretty sure they weren't bitten by radioactive spiders and we don't believe in supernatural causes for business success, and (b) because it only takes one counterexample to prove any given bit of business orthodoxy false.

Appeal-to-37signals is definitely a crutch argument. But that doesn't make it an invalid one.

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