7 ms·

In case anyone didn't notice, this blog post is by DHH.

stevenj 15y ago
That's interesting given that Jason Fried (his partner at 37signals) was a board member of Groupon and is now an advisor to the company.
- mikeryan 15y ago
  According to the payout statements Jason was also one of the folks who took money out in the last funding round to the tune of 500k (which seems like a pittance all things considered).
  - cemerick 15y ago
    I wonder how much of a ding this will make in his credibility among bootstrapped entrepreneurs in general. It's hard to talk down something and have your thumb in the pie at the same time.
    - solutionyogi 15y ago
      As long as DHH was not part of the GroupOn advisory panel, he is free to air his opinion. Also based on his tweets, he was expecting them to show a profit but was shocked to find that they were losing money. It's fine to change your opinion based on the hard numbers.
      - cemerick 15y ago
        I was talking about Mr. Fried, not @dhh.
        solutionyogi 15y ago
        But then these opinions are by DHH and not Fried. And based on what I know about DHH from his online persona, I don't think he will not air his opinions just because Jason was part of advisory panel of a company.
        cemerick 15y ago
        I didn't say DHH should or should not do anything. I was (perhaps too obliquely) thinking aloud about how the image of Mr. Fried (esp. re: VC vs. bootstrapping) meshes with his work with Groupon and their strategies, totally unrelated to whatever opinions or remarks either he or DHH make about Groupon.
        jasonfried 15y ago
        My opinions remain the same. I'm for bootstrapping, slow and steady growth, keeping your company as small as possible. Every day that goes by reinforces my belief in those basic ideas. None of that means I can't help someone who runs a company with a different model. I don't see how the two are related. I run my company one way, other people run their companies their way. If someone I respect asks for my help, and I want to help them, and I'm able to help them, I'll help them. I get hundreds of emails a year from people who ask for my help. I help as many as I reasonably can. Sometimes it's an email. Sometimes it's a phone call. Sometimes it's office hours. Sometimes it's giving a talk or giving my feedback on their products, companies, or designs. The Groupon experience was a very unique experience. I've never been presented with an experience like that before, so I got involved. It was a fantastic learning experience for me. I continue to help when asked. I wish everyone there nothing but the best. My approach, in general, is to learn about what I don't understand before rejecting what I don't understand. I don't always live up to that ideal, but I try.
        cemerick 15y ago
        All that seems great. I'll pick one nit before walking away from this steaming heap I've apparently provoked: > I don't see how the two are related. The simplest of affiliations can be taken by many as endorsement. That's only a problem (or, a "problem") if one's public persona is an asset and there's a perception of conflict or contradiction. Anyway, I unfortunately speculated in abstract terms publicly, instead of saving it for the coffee shop. I apologize for any resulting grief.
      - shareme 15y ago
        its not a shock though.. as I understand it Groupon wants to eliminate competition by making it so costly to get customers that others give up ti than can address rest of the inefficiencies and make profits at a slower revenue growth rate.
    - inkaudio 15y ago
      Jason mentioned that he didn't agree with everything Groupon was doing. Besides, I see 37signals as just favoring bootstrapping and not some hardcore anti venture capital crusaders.
    - jasonfried 15y ago
      Some facts here before things get a bit out of control: The S-1 speaks for itself. Back in mid-late 2009 Andrew Mason asked me to be on the Groupon board of directors. He wanted my opinions and advice on product development, design, copywriting, software development, and user experience. Andrew (and Brad and Eric) know where I stand on building bootstrapped, profitable businesses. I still stand there. I wasn't asked to be on the board to give them financial advice. I agreed to be on the board. I like Andrew a lot and I was very happy to help him. I had never been on a board before so I saw it as a great learning experience for me as well. Groupon compensated me for my involvement with options. A few months ago when Groupon took a big round, I was asked if I would like to sell some of my shares. I said yes. That sale is listed in the S-1. I still have more shares. I don't see any problem morally or ethically with selling shares that I was granted as part of my involvement with the board. I owned something, someone offered to buy it, and I sold it. I was asked to leave the board of directors in January of 2011. I serve as an advisor now. Whenever Andrew asks me for product, design, or writing advice, I'm happy to help. I've never invested my own money in Groupon or any other private company. It's not that I wouldn't invest in a private company, it's that I haven't. Those are the simple facts. As for my credibility, I don't see how any of this is relevant. You can make up your own mind about that. I believe today what I've always believed - net profits rule, bootstrapping is the way to start a business, and spending less than you earn is the only way to have a healthy relationship with money. As for DHH's opinions, they are his own. I may or may not share them, but we're both grown ups and we respect each other no matter what.
      - deleted 15y ago
        [deleted]
      - Jd 15y ago
        I believe today what I've always believed - net profits rule, bootstrapping is the way to start a business, and spending less than you earn is the only way to have a healthy relationship with money. Don't you also have a rule about not growing beyond a certain number of employees?
        jasonfried 15y ago
mechanical_fish 15y ago
I didn't see that at first or second glance, but that does explain why this blog post reads like DHH's Twitter feed from yesterday. ;)
fleitz 15y ago
I was wondering about that myself, I was thinking wow, this guy is really channeling dhh from yesterday.
tednaleid 15y ago
no obvious rss feed for it, but if you look at the source, you can see that http://shortlogic.tumblr.com/rss http://shortlogic.tumblr.com/rss will work, only 29 subscribers so far according to google reader, probably partially because it's a PITA to find the link

That's interesting given that Jason Fried (his partner at 37signals) was a board member of Groupon and is now an advisor to the company.

mikeryan 15y ago
According to the payout statements Jason was also one of the folks who took money out in the last funding round to the tune of 500k (which seems like a pittance all things considered).
- cemerick 15y ago
  I wonder how much of a ding this will make in his credibility among bootstrapped entrepreneurs in general. It's hard to talk down something and have your thumb in the pie at the same time.
  - solutionyogi 15y ago
    As long as DHH was not part of the GroupOn advisory panel, he is free to air his opinion. Also based on his tweets, he was expecting them to show a profit but was shocked to find that they were losing money. It's fine to change your opinion based on the hard numbers.
    - cemerick 15y ago
      I was talking about Mr. Fried, not @dhh.
      - solutionyogi 15y ago
        But then these opinions are by DHH and not Fried. And based on what I know about DHH from his online persona, I don't think he will not air his opinions just because Jason was part of advisory panel of a company.
        cemerick 15y ago
        I didn't say DHH should or should not do anything. I was (perhaps too obliquely) thinking aloud about how the image of Mr. Fried (esp. re: VC vs. bootstrapping) meshes with his work with Groupon and their strategies, totally unrelated to whatever opinions or remarks either he or DHH make about Groupon.
        jasonfried 15y ago
        My opinions remain the same. I'm for bootstrapping, slow and steady growth, keeping your company as small as possible. Every day that goes by reinforces my belief in those basic ideas. None of that means I can't help someone who runs a company with a different model. I don't see how the two are related. I run my company one way, other people run their companies their way. If someone I respect asks for my help, and I want to help them, and I'm able to help them, I'll help them. I get hundreds of emails a year from people who ask for my help. I help as many as I reasonably can. Sometimes it's an email. Sometimes it's a phone call. Sometimes it's office hours. Sometimes it's giving a talk or giving my feedback on their products, companies, or designs. The Groupon experience was a very unique experience. I've never been presented with an experience like that before, so I got involved. It was a fantastic learning experience for me. I continue to help when asked. I wish everyone there nothing but the best. My approach, in general, is to learn about what I don't understand before rejecting what I don't understand. I don't always live up to that ideal, but I try.
        cemerick 15y ago
        All that seems great. I'll pick one nit before walking away from this steaming heap I've apparently provoked: > I don't see how the two are related. The simplest of affiliations can be taken by many as endorsement. That's only a problem (or, a "problem") if one's public persona is an asset and there's a perception of conflict or contradiction. Anyway, I unfortunately speculated in abstract terms publicly, instead of saving it for the coffee shop. I apologize for any resulting grief.
    - shareme 15y ago
      its not a shock though.. as I understand it Groupon wants to eliminate competition by making it so costly to get customers that others give up ti than can address rest of the inefficiencies and make profits at a slower revenue growth rate.
  - inkaudio 15y ago
    Jason mentioned that he didn't agree with everything Groupon was doing. Besides, I see 37signals as just favoring bootstrapping and not some hardcore anti venture capital crusaders.
  - jasonfried 15y ago
    Some facts here before things get a bit out of control: The S-1 speaks for itself. Back in mid-late 2009 Andrew Mason asked me to be on the Groupon board of directors. He wanted my opinions and advice on product development, design, copywriting, software development, and user experience. Andrew (and Brad and Eric) know where I stand on building bootstrapped, profitable businesses. I still stand there. I wasn't asked to be on the board to give them financial advice. I agreed to be on the board. I like Andrew a lot and I was very happy to help him. I had never been on a board before so I saw it as a great learning experience for me as well. Groupon compensated me for my involvement with options. A few months ago when Groupon took a big round, I was asked if I would like to sell some of my shares. I said yes. That sale is listed in the S-1. I still have more shares. I don't see any problem morally or ethically with selling shares that I was granted as part of my involvement with the board. I owned something, someone offered to buy it, and I sold it. I was asked to leave the board of directors in January of 2011. I serve as an advisor now. Whenever Andrew asks me for product, design, or writing advice, I'm happy to help. I've never invested my own money in Groupon or any other private company. It's not that I wouldn't invest in a private company, it's that I haven't. Those are the simple facts. As for my credibility, I don't see how any of this is relevant. You can make up your own mind about that. I believe today what I've always believed - net profits rule, bootstrapping is the way to start a business, and spending less than you earn is the only way to have a healthy relationship with money. As for DHH's opinions, they are his own. I may or may not share them, but we're both grown ups and we respect each other no matter what.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - Jd 15y ago
      I believe today what I've always believed - net profits rule, bootstrapping is the way to start a business, and spending less than you earn is the only way to have a healthy relationship with money. Don't you also have a rule about not growing beyond a certain number of employees?
      - jasonfried 15y ago

mechanical_fish 15y ago

I didn't see that at first or second glance, but that does explain why this blog post reads like DHH's Twitter feed from yesterday. ;)

fleitz 15y ago

I was wondering about that myself, I was thinking wow, this guy is really channeling dhh from yesterday.

tednaleid 15y ago

no obvious rss feed for it, but if you look at the source, you can see that http://shortlogic.tumblr.com/rss http://shortlogic.tumblr.com/rss will work, only 29 subscribers so far according to google reader, probably partially because it's a PITA to find the link