David Heinemeier Hansson

May 20, 2021

After the storm

It's been three weeks since Jason and I announced the set of workplace policy changes that led to a public firestorm and a really difficult, stressful time for everyone at Basecamp.

Since then, we've been regrouping, hiring new colleagues, and continued operating our services without a hitch. We have a great team in place, and everyone has been helping out wherever needed.

We've also kept a watchful eye on the business. While there was a small uptick in cancelations for HEY during the first tumultuous week, they were more than offset by an increase in new customer signups for Basecamp. And now both products are growing like they were before that difficult week.

When you're in the midst of a storm like we were, it's easy to temporarily lose hope. To feel like it'll never pass. But it usually does, and so it did at Basecamp. Welcoming new colleagues and seeing the services continue to grow has done wonders to calm the nerves and strengthen our resolve.

It hasn't been easy, but that's never deterred us before. And it won't now. We have ambitious plans for the future of both Basecamp and HEY.  And as we've done for decades, we'll continue to share what we believe and what we've learned. Even when it's hard and even when we make mistakes. No storm is going to stop that.

About David Heinemeier Hansson

Made Basecamp and HEY for the underdogs as co-owner and CTO of 37signals. Created Ruby on Rails. Wrote REWORK, It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work, and REMOTE. Won at Le Mans as a racing driver. Fought the big tech monopolies as an antitrust advocate. Invested in Danish startups.