Hey :)

I’ve been a fan of 37signals for a long, long time.

I think it started when my dad gave me a copy of Rework when it first came out. Not long after that — around 2011-ish — I set up my very first monthly membership business.

And I built it on their tools.

Back then, that meant Basecamp… and Campfire.
(For anyone who remembers Campfire — that was their chat app before everything got folded into Basecamp.)

I’ve basically been orbiting their products ever since.

I’ve read Rework, Remote, It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work, and pretty much everything Jason and David have put out. I’ve had a Basecamp account for what feels like forever — and I still pay for one today.

Whenever they release something new, I’m always curious.

When HEY.com came out, I jumped on immediately. Moved my personal email over. Loved it. Still use it today (this blog is hosted on HEY).

When I started a business a couple of years ago, we even ran HEY.com with custom domains for about 18 months.

Eventually, though, we switched back to Google. Not because HEY was bad — but because Gmail just plugs into everything, and once your team grows, that matters.

Anyway.

The reason I’m telling you all this is because 37signals have just released a new product called Fizzy.

And I didn’t expect it to stick.

Inside Basecamp, my marketing assistant Julia and I had gradually stopped using to-do lists and started leaning heavily on card tables — basically Kanban boards — plus our calendars.

Over time, it became obvious we were clearer and more productive that way. We knew what was actually “on.” What was moving. What wasn’t.

So when Fizzy came out — which is essentially the card table idea turned into its own standalone app — we decided to try moving one project over.

That was the test.

I haven’t really used Basecamp since.

We’ve already created close to 500 cards in Fizzy (you get 1,000 for free), and it’s become the central place where we track projects and work across the business.

A couple of other pieces in our setup, for context:

What I love about Fizzy is how focused it is.

Basecamp has, what, eight tools?
We realised we were really only using one of them properly.

Fizzy is that one thing — done well.

And if you know me, you know I care a lot about a simple tech stack. I actively resist adding new tools unless there’s a clear payoff. Complexity is a tax.

This hasn’t felt like a tax at all. It’s been fun.
And we’ve got noticeably more clarity as a team because of it.

So if you haven’t checked Fizzy out yet, I’d genuinely recommend giving it a go. Run a real project in it. See how it feels.

And more broadly, if you’ve never really explored 37signals’ stuff — the books, the products, the philosophy — it’s worth a wander. They’ve carved out a very particular way of thinking about work, and I’ve taken a lot from that over the years.

If you do try Fizzy, I’d love to hear what you think.

🗣️ 👀

Chris

PS. This is not a paid promotion!