Launch day — a little logistics, a lot of luck

Release day always looks smooth from the outside. Behind the scenes, there’s a lot packed into a short window. In this episode, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share how 37signals approaches the final stretch of putting a product out into the world, using Fizzy as a recent example. They talk about narrowing features, resisting the urge to hype dates too early, and why steady word of mouth matters more than chasing algorithms.

Key Takeaways

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 00:10 – How Fizzy’s launch came together
• 02:17 – Choosing what really needs to ship in V1
• 08:51 – The downside of announcing dates too far ahead
• 12:33 – How algorithms have reshaped marketing
• 23:37 – Building buzz through word of mouth
• 30:00 – It all comes down to building a solid product

Links and Resources

• Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do
• Record a video question for the podcast
• Books by 37signals
• Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com
• HEY World | HEY
• The REWORK podcast
• The Rework Podcast on YouTube
• The 37signals Dev Blog
• 37signals on YouTube
• @37signals on X