March 20th was the one-year anniversary of the Jason Calacanis interview of David Heinemeier Hansson on This Week in Startups. Our industry could use more public debates like this.
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March 20th was the one-year anniversary of the Jason Calacanis interview of David Heinemeier Hansson on This Week in Startups. Our industry could use more public debates like this.
Chris Patton
on 28 Mar 11thanks for bringing this back – with Mahalo’s recent struggles David’s side of the debate sounds better than ever!
Chad Chabot
on 28 Mar 11~58:00, Jason Calcanis got a little annoying; it seemed like he was trying to get David caught up in some sort of lie or catch in logic, and then maybe frustrated that David didn’t get bogged down by it, or back pedalling from something he said.
And then ~ 1:18:00 when Jason goes on (almost editorializing) [as he seems wont to do]…
Whether right or wrong, David stays on message, consistent, and makes a compelling case for the model he and 37s follow/promote/believe in.
Of course, responses here should be considered as to which party would be seen more sympathetically or generously.
Kim Røen
on 28 Mar 11Great discussion, thanks for bringing that to my attention.
Did the post-REWORK debate with Jason, Jason and David ever happen?
Chris
on 28 Mar 11How is 37signals a lifestyle business? He says it a few times, retracts cause he thought it was an offensive thing to say, then inferred again that just because you create “simple” software, that that is somehow a “lifestyle” business.
What is a “lifestyle” business anyways? Isn’t that called a “muse”? Sure, simple to use, but definitely not simple to create. No software really is….
Kirk Downell
on 28 Mar 11@37signals
I lost A LOT of respect for you guys.
You constantly preach how people should not “cash out” of their business.
Yet, David explicitly states that DHH & Jason solely took on Jeff Bezos’ investment for them to personally cash-out (that money did not go into the business) of 37signals.
It can be watched at the 1:12 linked here
@Kirk Downell
on 28 Mar 11You have taken this statement out of context. I’m not sure if David meant that they personally took the cash that Jeff gave them out of the company, or if he meant they did not take it to pay for business expenses but rather for the “personal” reason of having Jeff Bezos as a director of the company.
But, I may be wrong on that as well.
Joe
on 28 Mar 11Jason F. and David H. own 37signals. They sold a portion of their ownership interest to Jeff Bezos, without giving up control. They received cash, but did not exit. It’s the loss of control and the exits that Jason and David preach against.
Will
on 28 Mar 11Wow. This Jason Calacanis guy is really impressed with himself. That’s my takeaway from this clip.
Jeff Putz
on 28 Mar 11I still enjoy this every time I see it, because Calacanis is so full of crap.
@Will
on 28 Mar 11Wouldn’t you be impressed with yourself if you were able to sell your business for $400 million (Weblogs Inc to AOL), when generating $12 million/year.
Sherwood
on 28 Mar 11This is one for the hall of fame, right up there with the “side project” talk from SXSW a few years back. Having to explain the merits of a profitable business to a serial entrepreneur – wow.
And not that Calacanis isn’t a smart guy – he is. Which shows you just how far the VC/angel ecosystem has evolved, to the point where exit strategies have actually eclipsed profitability as an end game.
Benjamin Welch
on 28 Mar 11I think we need a follow up. Fried vs. Calacanis!
Vlad
on 28 Mar 11Totally agree – a top 5 all time interview
General journalism could use more discussions like these.
Seeing people passionately take different sides and talk through their reasoning for their opinions opens you eyes and ultimately makes us all wiser.
madame asdf
on 28 Mar 11Something tells me DHH get’s an serious amount of tail. What a stud.
warambil
on 28 Mar 11David:
This interview was great! I loved it very much. It is about time that you and Jason start confronting more guys like Jason Calacanis.
This guy could not understand the meaning of being profitable and the reason why you work and you enjoy your job.
I totally agree with David when he states: “once you have 2m in the bank, to have 10 more is not that critical as the gap between 10k and 1 m”
And I also agree you dont have that amount of great ideas in your life. Because it is not only that, I mean, you can have more ideas, it is true, but good ideas + the right time + the right moment, it is not that easy.
Anyway, I am a big fan of you guys and have been following David since I first listened to him at Twit.tv. I completely agree with the way he thinks about business and start ups.
I truly enjoyed this interview and I would like you to post more of them.
You rock guys!
Robert
on 28 Mar 11What a cokehead / dickhead. (Jason Calacanis of course)
Tim Marsh
on 28 Mar 11Cracking interview.
And 0:55 – “ah interesting” And there’s unlimited capital? WTF? No, there’s not. Especially if central banks stop printing.
DHH destroyed – DESTROYED – this joker.
This reminds me of Anchorman. “In other words: He. Was The Balls”.
Nick
on 29 Mar 11Thanks for reposting this. I think it’s one of the best interviews I’ve seen and worth adding to your /speaks section. David did exceptional job of articulating the fundaments.
Coincidently, yesterday I sent the original post to my partner. We’re building a subscription based web app and have chosen bootstrap. No doubt in our minds it’s the right choice.
Cheers.
Anonymous Coward
on 29 Mar 11I think this discussion highlights the problems with the “capitalism” that’s allowed in America.
Think of it as a reward system. What kind of behaviour is getting rewarded? Sustainable business or selling snake oil and running? Is anyone surprised we recently went through a GFC?
Kudos to 37; REAL business people.
Steve T
on 29 Mar 11@Will 2 … never seen the Weblogs Inc sale quoted as anything more than $25-$30 million. Not bad, to be sure, but nowhere near the number you quote either.
Great interview, great argument by DHH, and something that has to be pushed everywhere.
And it’s not that Calacanis is entirely wrong either… but his idea of business is exactly the wrong one to push as a common model to follow—if everyone aimed to be the next Google or Facebook, 99.9% will fail. If everyone aimed to be the next 37 Signals, we’d have far more successes, and far more sustainable businesses.
@Steve T
on 29 Mar 11If you listen to the video, Jason C says AOL purchased Weblogics Inc at a little over 30x revenues.
Then later in the video, he says they were doing $12 million / year in revenues prior acquistion.
That’s how I came up with the estimated $400M
Anonymous Coward
on 29 Mar 11AOL bought Weblogs Inc for $25million.
yaAC
on 29 Mar 11DHH: “I want 37signals to be as massively profitable as possible.”
JC: “Is this some sort of socialist.. communist perspective?”
It could have been more interesting (sorry) if JC wasn’t that high.
Eric
on 29 Mar 11Yeah, for sure this was a great interview! I am a fan of both DHH and JC. More DHH for sure ;-)
Pushed the play button and couldn`t stop watching it, again.
Michael
on 29 Mar 11I really enjoyed this when it came out. I partially saw it as an ethnic debate. I’m partly Greek like Jason, and every Greek entrepreneur I’ve ever known has worked his ASS off to make it big. There’s a saying among them that “40 hours is part time.” Granted, this isn’t true of us Gen Y Greeks, but Jason is old enough. Meanwhile, David has that chill Northern approach.
Great interview.
@etagwerker
on 29 Mar 11This is a great discussion.
It’s a bit annoying to hear Jason Calacanis say “Hm.. Interesting” in such a condescending way.
But it’s great to hear both sides.
Ryan
on 29 Mar 11I had this conversation at work sort of. Not nearly as insightful.
Spicer Matthews
on 29 Mar 11Wow. Best this week in ever. I can not believe I missed it when it originally aired. The debate was great. We more of those interviews on the Internet.
Darren
on 31 Mar 11DHH is content with his life, something that is almost impossible to do. When you are content, you are happy.
Jason Calacnis acts like a condescending jerk in my opinion.
web design tipperary ireland
on 04 Apr 11interesting debate indeed, enjoyed hearing the different points of view, don’t agree with everything but quality of life is important for start-ups.
android development ireland
on 04 Apr 11bit condescending towards the startup but otherwise a good, interesting debate
This discussion is closed.