37signals
37signals is a software company co-founded by Jason Fried that began as a web design firm in 1999, created the project management software BasecampBasecampBasecamp is project management and team collaboration software from 37signals, combining tasks, discussions, files, and schedules in project spaces. It offers web, mobile, and desktop access; version 5 was released in 2026.Open the full entry and the email service HEY, and is where the web framework Ruby on RailsRuby on RailsRuby on Rails (often shortened to Rails) is an open-source, full-stack web application framework written in the Ruby programming language that builds database-backed web applications following the model–view–controller (MVC) pattern. Created by David Heinemeier Hansson and first publicly released in 2004, it is known for design principles such as “convention over configuration,” and companies including GitHub and Shopify use it in production.Open the full entry originated; from 2014 to 2022 the company operated under the name Basecamp.
Contents17 sections
Key facts
1999Beginnings as a Web Design Firm
37signals’ original website, online from 1999 to 2001, was the “37signals Manifesto,” a collection of 37 nuggets of online philosophy and design wisdom, with copyright held by 37signals, LLC.[1]
The company website’s “What’s in a name?” page notes that in the analysis of radio waves from space in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, almost all signal sources have been identified, but 37 signals remain unexplained.[2]
February 2004Launches Basecamp
The company launched the project management software Basecamp in February 2004.[3]
37signals was still a design firm at the time; about a year after Basecamp’s release, it was generating more revenue than the company’s web design business.[4]
The company says Ruby on Rails was invented at 37signals and that Basecamp was the first Ruby on Rails app ever; the open-source framework went on to run companies such as Shopify and GitHub.[5]
2005Launches Backpack
BackpackBackpackBackpack is a digital asset and securities services brand that grew out of a self-custodial wallet in the Solana ecosystem; it was founded by Armani Ferrante, who serves as CEO. Its businesses include Backpack Wallet, Backpack Exchange, the Mad Lads community and Backpack Securities, with wallet, trading and securities services provided through operating entities in different regions.Open the full entry, a personal and business information manager launched around spring 2005, was the company’s third product after Basecamp and Ta-da List and its first with an API; by May 2006 more than 150,000 people had signed up.[6]
2006Campfire, Getting Real and a BusinessWeek Cover
On February 16, 2006, the company launched Campfire, a simple real-time web-based group chat tool for business, with a free 30-day trial.[7]
On March 1, 2006, the company released the book Getting Real, a PDF-only edition of 171 pages priced at $19.[8]
BusinessWeek’s March 27, 2006, cover story, “Speed Demons,” on companies creating new products almost overnight, featured 37signals alongside XM Radio, H&M and Best Buy.[9]
July 20, 2006Investment from Bezos Expeditions
On July 20, 2006, 37signals announced an investment from Amazon founder Jeff BezosJeff BezosJeff Bezos is an American entrepreneur and investor who founded Amazon in 1994, led it as chief executive for many years, and became its executive chair in 2021. He also founded the spaceflight company Blue Origin, bought The Washington Post in 2013, and set up philanthropic funds including the Bezos Earth Fund.Open the full entry through Bezos ExpeditionsBezos ExpeditionsBezos Expeditions is Jeff Bezos’s personal investment platform, whose public portfolio spans the internet, enterprise software, life sciences, artificial intelligence, and robotics. Its investment activity is separate from Amazon’s corporate investments, and disclosed holdings include Business Insider, Skild AI, and Generalist.Open the full entry; the amount was not disclosed, and the company said it was not interested in cash or contacts but in access to Bezos.[10]
February 5, 2014Company Renamed Basecamp
On February 5, 2014, 37signals announced it would focus on its most successful product, Basecamp, and the company took the Basecamp name.[11]
August 19, 2014Highrise Becomes Its Own Company
On August 19, 2014, the company announced that Highrise had become its own company, legally a subsidiary of Basecamp, with its own leadership, team, board and budget, run by Nathan Kontny and funded by customer revenue.[12]
June 2020HEY and the App Store Dispute
In June 2020, Apple rejected updates to the company’s email app HEY because it did not offer in-app purchase; on June 16 David Heinemeier HanssonDavid Heinemeier HanssonDavid Heinemeier Hansson is a Danish programmer, entrepreneur and racing driver, the creator of the web framework Ruby on Rails and co-owner, with Jason Fried, of the software company 37signals, maker of Basecamp and HEY. He has co-written business books including Rework with Fried, won a class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014, has served on the board of Shopify since 2024, and created the Linux distribution Omarchy.Open the full entry said Apple was threatening to remove HEY from the App Store and called its demand a “ransom.”[13]
April 2021Policy Changes and Staff Departures
In April 2021, Fried announced a ban on “societal and political discussions” within the company’s Basecamp account. After a contentious all-hands meeting, about a third of the roughly 58-person staff accepted buyouts and left.[14]
May 3, 2022Returns to the 37signals Name
On May 3, 2022, Fried announced that the company was returning to the name 37signals, since it now made more than just Basecamp.[15]
2023Begins Leaving the Public Cloud
On January 13, 2023, the company’s operations team disclosed that it had spent $3,201,564 on cloud services in 2022 and planned to move many services out of the cloud in 2023.[16]
By March 2023, the company had moved Tadalist, Writeboard and Backpack back onto its own servers, cutting deployment times from several minutes to about one minute.[17]
September 26, 2024Releases Kamal 2.0
On September 26, 2024, the company released Kamal 2.0, its deployment tool for running web apps on VMs or bare-metal servers, adding its own kamal-proxy and automatic HTTPS, and was already deploying HEY with it.[18]
December 3, 2025Launches Fizzy
On December 3, 2025, the company launched the kanban tool Fizzy: each user gets 1,000 free cards, after which hosting costs $20 a month for unlimited cards and users; the software is open source and can be self-hosted for free.[19]
January 2026Moves Data off S3
On January 8, 2026, the company described the final stage of its cloud exit: about 10 petabytes of data moved from Amazon S3 to a Pure Storage FlashBlade system in less than 10 days of transfer.[20]
As of October 2026: Products and Operations
The company is best known for Basecamp, HEY, Omarchy Linux and ONCE, and it publishes business and software books.[21]
The company says it has “no investors, no board of directors, no eyes on an exit.”[22]
37signals is a fully remote company with no physical headquarters.[23]
Campfire, part of the ONCE line, is an installable, self-hosted group chat system offered for free and open-sourced under the MIT License.[24]
Books listed on the company website include Getting Real, REWORK, REMOTE, It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work and Shape Up.[25]
HEY now offers email and calendar services, introduced in a letter by co-founder and CEO Jason Fried.[26]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
37signals: Official website: https://37signals.com/ (opens in a new window)[27]
X: Official account: https://x.com/37signals (opens in a new window)[28]
Basecamp: Official website: https://basecamp.com/ (opens in a new window)[4]
HEY: Official website: https://www.hey.com/ (opens in a new window)[26]
ONCE: Official website: https://once.com/ (opens in a new window)[24]
Fizzy: Official website: https://www.fizzy.do/ (opens in a new window)[27]
Sources
- The 37signals Manifesto (our original site from 1999) (opens in a new window)
- 37signals — What's in a name? (opens in a new window)
- Happy Birthday Basecamp: 2 years old - Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals) (opens in a new window)
- Basecamp — Where we came from (opens in a new window)
- 37signals — Ruby on Rails (opens in a new window)
- Backpack's first birthday - Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals) (opens in a new window)
- LAUNCH: Campfire, easy group chat for business - Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals) (opens in a new window)
- Getting Real, the book (opens in a new window)
- BusinessWeek Cover Story featuring 37signals - Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals) (opens in a new window)
- 37 Signals Takes Jeff Bezos Investment (opens in a new window)
- 37signals goes all in on Basecamp (opens in a new window)
- Big news for Highrise (opens in a new window)
- HEY — Apple vs. HEY, antitrust, and monopoly (opens in a new window)
- One-Third of Basecamp Employees Have Reportedly Quit Following New Policy on Speech (opens in a new window)
- 37signals (opens in a new window)
- Our cloud spend in 2022 (opens in a new window)
- De-cloud and de-k8s — bringing our apps back home (opens in a new window)
- Kamal 2.0 released (opens in a new window)
- Introducing Fizzy, our newest product (opens in a new window)
- Moving Mountains of Data off S3 (opens in a new window)
- 37signals — Start here (opens in a new window)
- 37signals — An obligation to independence (opens in a new window)
- 37signals — Working at 37signals (opens in a new window)
- ONCE — Campfire (opens in a new window)
- Books by 37signals (opens in a new window)
- HEY — A delightfully fresh take on email + calendar, from 37signals (opens in a new window)
- 37signals (opens in a new window)
- 37signals Dev — How we do, what we do (opens in a new window)