📣 Visions vs Manifestos - learning from the best

A few days ago entrepreneur Jason Fried tweeted something which still has my attention after ignoring it for a whole weekend.

His company 37Signals, who brought Basecamp and more recently HEY.com to the world, pride themselves on being somewhat contrarian. I'm again reminded of just how well they do that.

If you've never heard of 37Signals, they're a successful software company that's been around since 1999 and here's a few examples of how they stand out:

- Co-Founder David speaks strongly out against the Venture Capital culture in tech world
- Together they wrote the book on remote work long before covid
- They created their own programming language and shared it with the world
- They have moved away from using big tech cloud services
- and their belief that they can take on industry giants and win on their own terms

It's clear that *doing it differently to their competitors* is definitely their thing.

Last week they announced that they're doing it again.

Image: Twitter Screenshot

They've identified something that has become normal in their industry, and they've decided to go the opposite direction.

So far they haven't announced what the product is. They have however, put out an announcement under a great, and undoubtedly eye-wateringly expensive, new domain: once.com

Image: Once.com screenshot - full text below. copyright: 37Signals/Once/Jason Fried

Whether or not you're interested in the eventual product(s), it's hard not to be impressed with their ability to write a compelling manifesto.

Here's what I learned from this particular manifesto:

- Writes directly to you, the reader.
- Reminisces about the good old days.
- Paints the picture of how dark it has become.
- Describes the villain and their motivations.
- Highlights the pain and injustice that you suffer.
- Sketches the new world alternative they believe in.

All written using language and metaphors that make you feel something. Not a word too long. Just a one pager where they draw a line in the sand and shout the rally cry.

edit: But what is that call? My friend Flori nailed it on Twitter:

It's not just about you as a victim but about you becoming the hero of your own story (take back control) - with their help.

That's how you write a vision without buzzword bingo and vomit.

That's how you start a movement.

By the way - I'm creating the book and podcast series for people who want their small or medium business to make more profit and better impact. So if you want more of this, please sign up for more at https://sixtyminutestoimpact.xyz

ps. You might like to know, there's zero tracking on this page. I have no idea who or how many people are reading it. If you have read it, I'd love to hear your perspective. Will you drop me a comment on whichever platform you saw it? Twitter Thread, LinkedIn Post

Below is the full text from the announcement for accessibility and posterity reasons.

Something happened to business software.

You used to pay for it once, install it, and run it. Whether on someone’s computer, or a server for everyone, it felt like you owned it. And you did.

Today, most software is a service. Not owned, but rented. Buying it enters you into a perpetual landlord–tenant agreement. Every month you pay for essentially the same thing you had last month. And if you stop paying, the software stops working. Boom, you’re evicted.

For nearly two decades, the SaaS model benefitted landlords handsomely. With routine prayers — and payers — to the Church of Recurring Revenue, valuations shot to the moon on the backs of businesses subscribed at luxury prices for commodity services they had little control over.

Add up your SaaS subscriptions last year. You should own that shit by now.

SaaS still makes sense for many products, but its grip will slip. Installation and administration used to be hopelessly complicated, but self–hosting tech is simpler now and vastly improved. Plus, IT departments are hungry to run their own IT again, tired of being subservient to Big Tech’s reign clouds.

Once upon a time you owned what you paid for, you controlled what you depended on, and your privacy and security were your own business. We think it’s that time again.

Introducing ONCE, a new line of software products from 37signals.

Pay one time, own forever.
We write the code, you get to see it.
We give you the software, you get to host it.
Simple and straightforward, not enterprisey and bloated.
For one fixed price. Once.

We’ll be launching the first product late 2023, with more coming in 2024.

In the early 2000s, we were among the early pioneers leading the industry into the SaaS revolution. Now, 20 years later, we intend to help lead the way out. The post–SaaS era is just around the corner.

Stay tuned.

Jason Fried
CEO, 37signals