TechFlash - Latest Comments in Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

Kendall — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:37:00 -0000

Good synopsis, Brent. Hope to see you tonight at TechFlash blast...

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

nirad — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:24:00 -0000

Why wouldn't Google or MS acquire 37signals instead of spending the resources to make a competing product? Isn't this what happens to most successful software companies?

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

freefo — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:00 -0000

berkshire hathaway was a lifestyle business. he never took money apart from a bunch of people in Omaha. No leverage. Worked from home for many years of the Buffett Partnerships. took it easy. No schedule. The whole notion of speed is stupid. The corporate headquarters has 19 people today. Nice cash generation is not a lifestyle business; it's just business. And controlling one's own destiny is usually the path to really big fortunes. You cannot afford to get diluted on the way; this is more important than growing quickly.

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

Ben — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:38:00 -0000

What about Salesforce.com? Didn't they come along a few years back and successfully eat Siebel's lunch with a lower cost, simpler to deploy and use CRM solution? That's a more compelling analog to what 37 Signals is up to (albeit with a very different approach to marketing and product strategy) than Onyx/Siebel in my view.

The terms on which software companies compete today are fundamentally different than they were 5-10 years ago. Market dominance and competitive differentiation is a function of the quantity and value of the data under management and NOT of the footprint of the technology.

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

rick — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:14:00 -0000

yawn... first off, what's wrong with a few people making a few million a year? where's it written that unless you grow to a billion dollars and get covered all over the place you're a failure?

Second, tell me why 37Signals is at risk and Smartsheet isn't?

Third, MS and Google aren't going to attack a market that's a few million a year in size. Probably not even if it's $50m a year unless it's growing swiftly or they feel that by entering the market they can make that happen.

Sorry, but the fear of MS entering your market and killing you is a 1990s story - not a 2009 one. And it was always shortsighted - talk about market validation and education!

As for Basecamp, it's fine if it maps to the way you work. If it doesn't, it's the wrong product. However, this doesn't make it a _bad_ product anymore than GMail is a worse product than Outlook because Gmail doesn't use folders and Outlook does. They differ in how they do a function and that's FINE. This is far better than some product that tries to be all things to all people and ends up doing nothing well. Basecamp and you just don't think alike? Great, use another product. That's kind of why there are different products after all.

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

MikeSchinkel — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:09:00 -0000

I have unfortunately used Basecamp (again, after 2+ years away) with several of my recent clients though it was not my choice. It is painful product to use because it doesn't let me work they way I want to work. If I could get my clients to use something else I'd be much happier.

On the contrary to several people commenting, I think all that Microsoft or Google would need to do is actually listen to what customers need instead of telling them "No, sorry, we aren't going to give you what you ask for because we think you don't need it." <sic>

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

Brandon Teo — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:15:00 -0000

"They have the cache of being the fathers of Ruby on Rails"

This sounds like an intentional pun give the tech context but I think you mean "cachet" , ha ha

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

Brent Frei — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:11:00 -0000

Smartsheet is indeed a good alternative to some of their products, though no where do I disparage in any way their good services. It turns out that they are a company that stands out in my radar given their proximity in our target markets.

Product company vs Marketing company is an age old topic. I simply point out that 37Signals seems to have an amazing opportunity with their very happy customers in a market that should house a billion dollar software winner. Yet it seems they are content with their 'anti-growth' approach and a modest single digit million revenue stream. Using Onyx and my own experience as a proxy to provide advice shouldn't offend any of their customers.

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

Jeff — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:10:00 -0000

funny how your company seems to compete with 37 Signals.

"smartsheet - Collaborate on task lists, projects, or anything you’re working on"

sounds like astroturfing to me

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

Jordan Mitchell — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:40:00 -0000

Uh oh, Brent -- you ruffled the feathers of 37 Signals fans!

Now I don't know squat about your product or theirs, I just know they have quite a following.

I also know this: in business there is NO safety. No matter how good your technology, story, product, fan base, IP, etc. there is always the threat of someone about to eat your lunch.

Re: Lifestyle business? Google or Microsoft could eat your lunch

saas — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:19:00 -0000

"the downside of super simple apps is that they are super simple to copy."

Don't confuse a simple UI with a simple application. I have no doubt the back end of Basecamp is quite sophisticated and would take considerable effort to duplicate.

Of course you know this as your company is building a product that competes with Basecamp.

Not mentioning that fact while criticizing 37 Signals strikes me as a little disingenuous.