Basecamp is a company spread out across 26 different cities around the world. Our office is in Chicago, but everyone at Basecamp is free to live and work wherever they want. Many of us love working remotely.
We’re designers, programmers, tinkerers, writers, speakers, bikers, engineers, runners, developers, chefs, analysts, campers, musicians, filmmakers, knitters, hikers, authors, photographers, pilots, race car drivers, readers, travelers, gardeners, volunteers, parents, and hard workers.
With such a diverse group of people, from so many different places, we bring a unique perspective to everything we do.
15 years and running.
We started the business back in 1999 (we used to be called 37signals, but recently we changed the name of the business to Basecamp, to match the name of our most popular product). 2014 marks our 15th year in business, yet we feel like we’re just getting started.
Over the years we’ve been fortunate to earn the repeat business of thousands of customers including some of the world’s largest – and smallest – companies. It’s rare that a business tool is equally popular with the big guys and the small guys, but Basecamp is that kind of tool. Freelancers, small shops, mid-sized companies, and multinationals all rely on Basecamp.
Doubling down on simple.
We’re big believers in the power of keeping it simple. Every bet we’ve ever placed on making something easier for our customers has always paid off.
In the decades to come, we’ll continue to make big bets on simplicity, clarity, ease-of-use, and honesty. This goes for our products, our publications, and our company.
Investing in the things that don’t go out of style.
The best business advice we ever got is from Jeff Bezos from Amazon.com (Jeff bought a small piece of our company in 2006). He told us “Find the things that won’t change in your business and invest heavily in those things.”
He explained it like this… “Take Amazon for example… 10 years from now people aren’t going to say ‘I wish Amazon shipping was slower’ or ‘I wish Amazon had a worse selection’, so we invest heavily in fast shipping and a broad selection.”
So what are those things for us? 10 years from now people aren’t going to say “I wish Basecamp was harder to use” or “I wish Basecamp was slower and less reliable” or “I wish it took longer to get an answer from someone at Basecamp”, so we invest heavily in infrastructure, great design, and customer service.
We don’t chase fads and trends, we stay focused on the things that will always be important.