Two Weeks

Basecamp released its new email service, HEY, on June 15. It was supposed to be a calm, controlled product launch, but what followed was a period that CEO Jason Fried described as "chaotic, enthralling, (and) horrible." Basecamp got into a public fight with Apple over the HEY iOS app and the customer support team made emergency hires to help with an unprecedented caseload—all during a turbulent time for the world at large. This is the story of those two weeks, in the voices of the people who fixed bugs, answered customer emails, fended off security threats, and pulled off one of the most audacious undertakings in company history.Show NotesHEY - 00:30David Heinemeier Hansson on Twitter - 00:50Jason Fried on Twitter - 1:22Kristin on Twitter - 3:21Javan on Twitter - 3:53Jason's HEY demo on YouTube - 4:21HEY's desktop apps - 5:26Dylan on Twitter - 7:09Zach on Twitter - 8:37David's "burn this house down" tweet - 12:03Protocol's coverage of Apple's rejection - 14:21Macintosh SE - 16:20Conor on Twitter - 18:26Signal v. Noise post written for Juneteenth - 19:34Lexi on Twitter - 20:54Jason Fried's open letter to Apple about IAP - 22:09TechCrunch interview with Phil Schiller - 23:32David's olive branch tweet - 24:51HEY for Work - 28:51Rosa on Twitter - 31:32Jorge on Twitter - 31:58Michael on Twitter - 32:33Jonas on Twitter - 33:00"Hire When It Hurts" and "Welcome Aboard" are our episodes about Basecamp's hiring and onboarding processes - 36:08Jason Fried's letter, "Apple, HEY, and the Path Forward" - 40:11WWDC 2020 - 40:26A League of their Own clip (you zip it, Doris!) - 41:24Jeff on Twitter - 41:43Troy on Twitter - 42:27Chase on Twitter - 45:48"The HEY Way" explains the case against Inbox Zero - 46:25"Office Space," our episode on leaving the Chicago office - 50:12This Week in Startups episode featuring DHH - 51:20Basecamp's jobs page - 52:43