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I guess they do not mind but looking at the growth graph at the bottom seems like basecamp is plateauing.

by lixtra 8y ago

coldtea 8y ago
And there's nothing wrong with that. Eternal growth (or worse, dominating a market) shouldn't be the goal, sustainability should.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
And? If they're a comfortable size and bringing in good money with a good work/life balance and job security like they lead people to believe then fair play to them.
- lixtra 8y ago
  I just noticed. While they talked about comfortable size etc. all the time they were still explosively growing. It will be interesting to watch how they manage if their products really plateau. I wish them all the best and I can well imagine that they just manage to launch something new with explosive growth where they can feel cozy and comfortable sized.
  - daemin 8y ago
    I thought I read somewhere where they actually stopped all hiring for their company. It may have been this year even.
    - combatentropy 8y ago
      Yes, that's right, https://m.signalvnoise.com/things-are-going-so-well-were-doing-a-hiring-freeze-5f66372a4214 https://m.signalvnoise.com/things-are-going-so-well-were-doi... (January 31), but now they're hiring a data analyst, https://m.signalvnoise.com/basecamp-is-hiring-a-data-analyst-f15fbfc153ba https://m.signalvnoise.com/basecamp-is-hiring-a-data-analyst... (September 21).
dominicr 8y ago
If you consider a 35 degree slope a plateau then may I kindly suggest never applying for a job at a mapping company ;)
gehsty 8y ago
I think it would be fairer to say their rate of growth is slowing.
- lixtra 8y ago
  You're right. I used the term plateauing incorrectly. I wanted to say that they left the exponential growth regime and display a logistic growth regime that will eventually plateau.
  - wlll 8y ago
    ISTR (I worked there over three years ago) Growth rate spikes after new versions are released, The 2012 jump is Basecamp 2 and that really moved the needle, and late 2015 is Basecamp 3. There's interest and publicity and articles and stuff, and that trails off to a more "normal" growth rate. The leveling off you see from 2016 to present is likely an artefact fo this, the longer term growth rate is probably approximately a line fitted to the graph from 2012 and onwards.
Cthulhu_ 8y ago
A (rough guesstimate) 25% growth over the span of two years is a very respectable growth for a company nearly 20 years old. It's comparable to Facebook and the chart has a very similar shape to FB: https://beta.techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/facebook-historical-user-count-graph.png?w=680 https://beta.techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/faceb...

I guess they do not mind but looking at the growth graph at the bottom seems like basecamp is plateauing.

by lixtra 8y ago

I guess they do not mind but looking at the growth graph at the bottom seems like basecamp is plateauing.

And there's nothing wrong with that. Eternal growth (or worse, dominating a market) shouldn't be the goal, sustainability should.

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago

And? If they're a comfortable size and bringing in good money with a good work/life balance and job security like they lead people to believe then fair play to them.

lixtra 8y ago
I just noticed. While they talked about comfortable size etc. all the time they were still explosively growing. It will be interesting to watch how they manage if their products really plateau. I wish them all the best and I can well imagine that they just manage to launch something new with explosive growth where they can feel cozy and comfortable sized.
- daemin 8y ago
  I thought I read somewhere where they actually stopped all hiring for their company. It may have been this year even.
  - combatentropy 8y ago
    Yes, that's right, https://m.signalvnoise.com/things-are-going-so-well-were-doing-a-hiring-freeze-5f66372a4214 https://m.signalvnoise.com/things-are-going-so-well-were-doi... (January 31), but now they're hiring a data analyst, https://m.signalvnoise.com/basecamp-is-hiring-a-data-analyst-f15fbfc153ba https://m.signalvnoise.com/basecamp-is-hiring-a-data-analyst... (September 21).

dominicr 8y ago

If you consider a 35 degree slope a plateau then may I kindly suggest never applying for a job at a mapping company ;)

gehsty 8y ago

I think it would be fairer to say their rate of growth is slowing.

lixtra 8y ago
You're right. I used the term plateauing incorrectly. I wanted to say that they left the exponential growth regime and display a logistic growth regime that will eventually plateau.
- wlll 8y ago
  ISTR (I worked there over three years ago) Growth rate spikes after new versions are released, The 2012 jump is Basecamp 2 and that really moved the needle, and late 2015 is Basecamp 3. There's interest and publicity and articles and stuff, and that trails off to a more "normal" growth rate. The leveling off you see from 2016 to present is likely an artefact fo this, the longer term growth rate is probably approximately a line fitted to the graph from 2012 and onwards.

Cthulhu_ 8y ago

A (rough guesstimate) 25% growth over the span of two years is a very respectable growth for a company nearly 20 years old. It's comparable to Facebook and the chart has a very similar shape to FB: https://beta.techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/facebook-historical-user-count-graph.png?w=680 https://beta.techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/faceb...