37signals
| Company type | Privately-held |
|---|---|
| Industry | web development |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Products | web applications |
Number of employees | 7 (2005) |
| Website | www.37signals.com |
37signals is a privately-held web design and web application company based in Chicago. The firm was founded in 1999 as a web design company with a particular focus on usability. 37signals also produces a popular blog Signal vs. Noise.
37signals designed Meetup and redesigned sites for customers including Panera Bread. In 2000, they created the eNormicom website, a widely-circulated satire of the dot-com era. In 2003, 37signals launched a web design service called 37express, where for a set fee they would redesign one page on a website.
Also in 2003, 37signals began work on a web application for project management named Basecamp, originally intended for internal use, that would take the company in a new direction. Basecamp has since been followed by:
- Ta-Da List - a pared-down to-do list application
- Backpack - a less structured personal information manager
- Writeboard - a collaborative editor
- Campfire - a business-oriented chat interface
- and Sunrise, a CRM application (as of 2006, announced but not yet public).
By mid-2005 the company had moved away from consulting work to focus exclusively on its web applications, which serve more than 400,000 users. Each application has a free limited-feature version and (except for Ta-Da List) monthly subscription levels with more features.
The Basecamp foundation, an application framework using the language Ruby, was released as the open source Ruby on Rails. 37signals has been an ardent campaigner of a philosophy that eschews formal programming methodology and focuses on creating practical alpha software with small teams and iterating to a fully useful application based on client feedback. The company, which has expanded without venture capital, also strongly advocates the "self-funded startup" approach. The company's advocacy extends to seminars held in Chicago and other U.S. cities.
The company is named for the 37 radiotelescope signals identified by astronomer Paul Horowitz as potential messages from extraterrestrial intelligence.
Books
- Defensive Design for the Web : How to improve error messages, help, forms, and other crisis points, New Riders Press, 2004 ISBN 073571410X
- Getting Real, self-published e-book, 2006
See also
External links
- 37signals company site
- 37 Signals, 1 Clear Message - BusinessWeek Online interview with cofounder Jason Fried
- 37signals: Programming at Warp Speed - BusinessWeek company profile within cover story on "smart companies creating new products -- and whole new businesses -- almost overnight"