Why Do People Like 37signals?
The TL:DR of the article - Jason Fried and DHH built a successful company by staying independent, keeping things simple, and rejecting conventional Silicon Valley wisdom. Their customers say things like “I’m in control for the first time in years” and “I own my inbox again.” Therefore, Syng concludes, 37signals owns control as a concept in the same way Volvo owns safety. Every decision they make flows from this positioning, whether they realize it or not.
The problem I have with this: it explains too much, too neatly.
Once you decide that a company deliberately owns a particular concept, you can interpret literally everything they do as reinforcing that concept. Did they remove features? Control through subtraction. Did they reject venture capital? Control over destiny. Did they launch one-time purchase software? Control through ownership. The theory becomes unfalsifiable because any evidence can be made to fit.
I have a simpler explanation: people like 37signals products for the same reason we like artisanal coffee, expensive mechanical keyboards, or whatever else serves as a marker of taste in our particular subcultures. As someone who uses and appreciates 37signals products, I can honestly say - we like being the kind of people who use and appreciate 37signals products.
I appreciate this perspective. It really comes down to this idea of “I want to be associated with that.”
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