REWORK

Basecamp CEO Jason Fried talks about ideas with Paul McAvinchey, co-founder of Product Collective, at INDUSTRY: The Product Conference in September 2017.

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, which bills itself as the top-selling natural soapmaker in North America, wasn't founded to sell soap. The company was started to promote a religious philosophy developed by Emanuel Bronner, a third-generation German Jewish soapmaker, who printed his message on the labels of his potent peppermint liquid soap. Successive generations of the Bronner family have used the label's message of a united humanity to guide the company, which spends much of its profits on charitable causes and is outspoken on issues like wage equality and fair trade. Today, even as the idea of a united humanity seems more distant than ever, Dr. Bronner's continues to spread its soap and message worldwide.

Business and politics tend to make uneasy bedfellows, but in these divisive times, even businesses that have historically stayed out of hot-button issues are coming off the sidelines. In this episode: An online florist tells racists to shop elsewhere; Basecamp stops reimbursing employees for Uber rides; and a Chicago couple creates a lighthearted product with a serious message about the treatment of female bodies.

Explore the importance of saying no and setting boundaries in order to manage workload and prioritize tasks. Hear about the challenges faced by programmers and strategies for effective time management. Discover the value of customer support and the benefits of simplicity in running a business. Join the hosts as they discuss their struggles with letting go of costume items and share their favorite costumes and props.

Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson is known for many things, including creating Ruby on Rails and writing business books. He also has a knack for arguing with people on the Internet. This cheerfully profane conversation explores how Twitter is like a virtual pillow to scream into and the role that extreme voices play in moving important conversations forward. We also relive some of David's memorable Twitter melees, including the one that got him blocked by Paul Graham.

Being tired isn't a badge of honor. There, we said it. We've been saying this for a while now, because our culture loves to glorify toiling long hours for its own sake and we think that leads to subpar work and general misery. In this episode, we talk to a veteran of the video game industry and a member of Basecamp's customer support team about workaholism and burnout. We also hear from a new business owner who's balancing mindfulness with the demands of starting her own meditation-focused company.

Welcome to the first episode of Rework! This podcast is based on Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson's 2010 best-selling business book, which was itself based on years of blogging. So what better way to kick off this show than talking about byproducts? In this episode, Jason explains how Basecamp's ideas have been packaged as blog posts, workshops, and books. We also visit a 145-year-old sawmill in Ontario, Canada to see how this family-owned business sells its physical byproducts.

"The word you always hear is 'scaling,' right? 'We gotta scale.' And I'm just like: well, why do you have to scale?" – Jason FriedIntroducing the Rework podcast: a show by the makers of Basecamp about a better way to work and run your business. For years entrepreneurs have been told that to be successful they have to scale fast, raise money and get big. We're here to tell you there's a better way.