So you're saying it's completely possible for anyone to create the next rails?
The issue isn't that I disbelieve they did awesome things so they're successful. Sure - they did good stuff, and got some luck. The question is, can it be replicated by others, and is their advice useful to people looking to build companies.
Their advice is SO narrow. It's basically "how to build 37signals". So for me, it's not really very useful unless I invent a time machine, and decide I want to build 37signals before they do.
People created frameworks before Rails. They continue to create frameworks now. Someone will be the Rails of Node.js, for instance. But calling 37s a successful "framework company" seems sort of inept; their customers, by and large, do not seems like Rails users. Indeed, Rails users seem like exactly the kinds of people who think that Basecamp and Campfire are trivially reproduced and not worth the money.
All I'm saying is, if you think that having a popular blog is the key to 37signals success, then go start a popular blog. Nobody is stopping you. God did not reach out from the heavens and give SvN to 37signals.
Meanwhile, how many people work for Github? 4? What parts of 37signals' advice clearly don't apply to them? Are there no other examples of small companies with strong revenue that we can come up with?
You don't have to create Rails. Create something else. Anything else. Release it. If it's good, it'll get attention. Maybe the attention will be less. Doesn't matter. Some attention is better than none. Now, leverage that. Release something else. Leverage it. Go back and improve something else. Pimp one of your things in front of the audience to another one of your things. And vice versa.
* Advertising can never work - sell direct is only option, charge from day one etc
* Fire workaholics etc
* Never take funding
I guess those are the main ones I see as pretty clueless advice.
Don't get me wrong, some of their advice is good, but those bits are also quite obvious. Maybe some people enjoy it. Each to their own :)
If you want to create a company like 37Signals, which sells premium slimmed down feature set webapps to businesses, then their advice probably makes a fair bit of sense. But that's a pretty narrow segment of startups.
Also much of their business seems to be about giving advice, writing books, talks, etc lifecoaching. So their advice is really about creating a company to do that.
The issue isn't that I disbelieve they did awesome things so they're successful. Sure - they did good stuff, and got some luck. The question is, can it be replicated by others, and is their advice useful to people looking to build companies.
Their advice is SO narrow. It's basically "how to build 37signals". So for me, it's not really very useful unless I invent a time machine, and decide I want to build 37signals before they do.