REWORK

Andy Hunter launched Bookshop.org in January as a platform to help independent bookstores take and fulfill online orders. Shortly afterward, the pandemic forced small businesses to close their physical doors and Bookshop.org found itself trying to manage three years of growth in three months. Andy comes on the show for a deep dive into how his business works, monopoly power in the book industry, and what steps Bookshop is taking to make sure growth and success don't compromise their mission.Show NotesAnnihilation by Jeff VanderMeer - 1:27"Nevermore, Amazon," our episode about The Raven Book Store - 2:06Andy Hunter on Twitter - 2:44Bookshop website | Twitter | Instagram - 2:44Catapult | Counterpoint | Soft Skull Press - 3:28Lit Hub - 3:32Ingram - 6:21Certified B Corporation - 9:25Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C. - 10:18Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, CO - 10:19Powell’s Books in Portland, OR - 10:20IndieBound - 13:30Morgan Entrekin - 15:34HappyFunCorp - 18:36Libro.fm - 19:37Hummingbird Digital Media - 20:16"Baker & Taylor to Drop Wholesale Book Distribution to Retailers" - 24:56BuzzFeed article about GrubHub collecting fees from restaurants even when customers call to place orders - 26:05Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins - 30:23Astounding by Alec Nevala-Lee (Wailin's husband) - 30:45

The pandemic has caused enormous job losses and forced many companies to rethink the nature of work. In this episode, two Stanford students talk about the online resource they built to help fellow students whose summer internships were canceled, and Wildbit CEO Natalie Nagele returns to Rework to discuss the launch of People-First Jobs, a job board that connects seekers with human-centered companies.Show NotesAkshaya Dinesh's website | LinkedIn | Twitter - 1:10Andrew Tan's website | LinkedIn | Twitter - 1:28Verkada - 3:36LinkedIn post announcing the mentorship program - 5:36Remote Students - 8:10People-First Jobs website | Twitter - 10:17Wildbit - 10:21Natalie Nagele on Twitter - 10:30COVID-19 Resources on People-First Jobs - 17:27our recent episode about banning makers of employee surveillance technology - 18:53Kitty Hawk - 20:20

A growing number of companies have turned to employee surveillance software to monitor their newly remote workforce. Basecamp, which has taken a hardline stance against surveillance of all kinds, decided to ban makers of this "tattleware" from integrating with our products. Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson comes on the show to talk about how a special "Moral Quandaries" team at the company made the decision and how surveillance systems poison the future of remote work.Show NotesAwair air quality monitor - 00:34A presentation by DHH on "Why Air Quality Matters" - 1:15DHH on Twitter - 1:55Basecamp Terms of Service  -2:37Until the End of the Internet policy - 2:46Basecamp API - 3:54basecamp.com/extras - 4:09Article by Drew Harwell of the Washington Post about employee surveillance - 5:10REMOTE: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson - 8:53The surveillance illustration from REMOTE - 9:00 GitHub repository for Basecamp policies - 14:00Signal v. Noise post about the new policy - 14:21Apple's "1984" commercial for the Macintosh - 17:10

The government may not consider comic book shops, indoor plant stores, and small boutiques "essential," but these businesses are vital to the unique fabric of their neighborhoods and downtowns. Without foot traffic, they're finding new ways to connect with customers and stay afloat, all while navigating supply chain disruptions and e-commerce logistics. Show NotesAlleyCat Comics website | Facebook | Instagram - 0:55Mighty Con - 1:36"New Comics Delayed Across Industry in Wake of Coronavirus Concerns" (The Hollywood Reporter) - 2:10Our previous episodes about small businesses and COVID covered fitness studios and family-oriented businesses - 2:37Hearth & Hammer General Store website | Facebook | Instagram - 3:29Walden Woods candle - 4:22The Zen Succulent website | Facebook | Instagram  - 8:00Modern Terrarium Studio by Megan George - 9:01Jordan Grace Owens website | collaboration with The Zen Succulent - 10:36Claire Daniel website | picture of her installation at The Zen Succulent - 11:02Mad Cave Studios GoFundMe for comic book shops - 13:25Image Comics announcement on their COVID measures - 13:37Megan George was able to get a Paycheck Protection Program loan, but most of her fellow women of color business owners were shut out - 16:04Sex Criminals - 19:31Moog Theremini - 21:16

We call up our friend and former colleague Esther Lee, who lives with her husband on a 35-foot sailboat named Hope in Jacksonville, Florida. Esther, an "idealist in hiding," talks about how living smaller gives her more space to turn outward and care for others, especially now.Show NotesEsther's bio at the Poetry Foundation - 00:25The Minimalists - 3:30Sailrite sewing machines - 9:30eXXpedition - 13:32eXXpedition's João Pessoa to Barbados leg has been rescheduled to 2022 - 13:45Sacrificial Metal by Esther Lee - 14:22Rudolf Laban - 14:52Wayfinders Now on Instagram | website - 17:55

Endless Zoom meetings, being cut off from friends, the widespread cancellation of summer fun, ricocheting between boredom and anxiety—kids have it pretty rough! And it's no picnic for their parents, either. In this episode, businesses built on offering in-person enrichment for children talk about how they're adapting to reach families and stay resilient during this time.Show NotesNancy Mork's biography - 00:47Fussy Baby Network website | Facebook - 00:50Erikson Institute - 00:53Hatch Art Studio website | Instagram - 3:51Collage Workshop for Kids by Shannon Merenstein - 3:55Omowale Casselle on Twitter - 5:28Digital Adventures website - 5:32Bar Rucci's Art Bar Blog - 13:06Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art - 21:17Eric Carle's book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar (not The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar like Wailin says) - 21:21Collage Workshop for Kids on Bookshop.org - 21:29

Basecampers Nathan Anderson and Joan Stewart talk about their love of baking bread and how to get started if you're a newbie. As Joan says, you just have to believe.Show NotesThe New York Times chocolate chip cookie recipe, adapted from Jacques Torres  - 00:43Nathan Anderson on Twitter - 1:00Nathan attended Artisan Bread Camp, taught by Tom Edwards. Read a Washington Post story about the reporter's experience at the same session (Nathan is briefly mentioned in the article and is in one of the photos.) - 2:00Bon Appétit YouTube channel - 2:14Joan Stewart on Twitter - 2:17"Brad and Claire Make Sourdough Bread" - 2:35Claire Saffitz on Instagram - 2:39Bread magazine - 3:00Recipes for using sourdough starter discard - 5:05Edna Mode - 7:25

CEO Jason Fried and Head of Strategy Ryan Singer talk about the Shape Up approach to product development that we use at Basecamp. They discuss organizing work in six-week cycles, how to handle disagreement, and how so much of the process boils down to making trade-offs. You can also watch the full video of this Q&A session.Show NotesGoing Remote Q&A videos on YouTube - 00:57Basecamp's remote work resources - 1:00Jason Fried | Ryan Singer on Twitter - 1:09Hey, Basecamp's forthcoming email product - 1:23Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters - 2:17Q1: How do you go about planning something from scratch? What are the different milestones in the product-planning process? - 4:59An explainer of six-week cycles - 6:10An explainer of finding the epicenter from Getting Real, Basecamp's earlier book on product development - 11:50Q2: How do you decide how far to break down projects? Can you be so granular that you reach a point of diminishing returns? - 13:31Shape Up chapter on scopes - 16:10Q3: How do you decide which pitches to execute, and how often do you disagree? - 19:32Spikeball - 27:55Q4: How is potential value creation assessed in the betting process? - 27:58Q5: How do you alert someone about work that needs to be done by them? - 34:45Q6: How do you do a 6-week cycle for a whole new project? - 37:10Inverted pyramid - 38:36Q7: How do you pitch the Shape Up process to someone who’s not technical? - 39:28Q8: How do you train team members to learn the work process? - 42:28Q9: How do conversations with customers fit into the shaping and strategy? - 46:22Q10: What do you do about people who ignore the breadboarding and fat marker techniques? - 50:33Q11: Is there a utility in using software? - 54:49Q12: When approaching features like two-factor authentication or encryption, how do you balance what’s most secure with what’s most convenient for users? - 55:22Q12: How did you decide to work on Hey? What’s the bet and how did you structure the team separate from Basecamp? - 1:03:10Highrise - 1:03:26"Highrise is back with Basecamp" (Signal v. Noise ) - 1:07:22

Several of Basecamp's working parents talk about (not) getting things done with small children around, navigating responsibilities and feelings with partners, structuring the day, primal screaming, and more. You can also watch the full video replay of this Q&A session.Show NotesGoing Remote series on YouTube - 00:10Basecamp's Remote Resources page - 00:39Question 1: If you’re home with kids under three, how do you work while they’re craving your attention? - 4:00Going Remote episode about customer support - 6:25Art for Kids Hub on YouTube - 15:31Lunch Doodles with children's book author Mo Willems - 15:51LeVar Burton does #LeVarBurtonReadsLive on his Twitter feed - 15:55Question 2: How do you navigate tension between partners when one person bears more of the childcare responsibilities? - 19:22Question 3: What morning habits do you have to keep yourself aligned? - 23:33Basecamp on Twitter - 27:23

David Sax is the author of the new book The Soul of an Entrepreneur: Work and Life Beyond the Startup Myth. He comes on the show to debunk the Silicon Valley narrative that only a rarefied subset of people can succeed as founders, and shares examples from his book of business owners whose complex relationship with freedom, risk, and success offer a fuller picture of entrepreneurship.Read David's recent op-ed in the New York Times, "The Coronavirus Is Showing Us Which Entrepreneurs Matter."Show NotesDavid Sax's website | Twitter - 1:16The Soul of an Entrepreneur: Work and Life Beyond the Startup Myth - 1:21"At 21, Kylie Jenner Becomes The Youngest Self-Made Billionaire Ever" (Forbes) - 7:05A 2017 Daily Beast profile of Kris Jenner's mother - 7:21ESOPs - 17:16Article by Daniela Papi-Thornton in the Stanford Social Innovation Review about "heropreneurship" - 20:54Save the Deli by David Sax - 23:40The Revenge of Analog by David Sax - 23:52Maxim's May/June 2018 issue featuring Heidi Klum - 24:40The Soul of an Entrepreneur on Bookshop.org - 26:15