Two Informative Sources

There are two of pieces of media I consider essential in understanding what informs me both as an employee and as an entrepreneur. One piece is a video of David Heinemeier Hanson (a.k.a. DHH - inventor of Ruby on Rails), a partner in 37signals, the maker of Basecamp. First, a little background on that business.

Quoted by 37signals on April 13 2011:

Basecamp was done almost entirely without risk. It was completely self-funded. We treated it as a side-product and a side-project until it could pay the bills. And only then did we make it the main focus of the company. 

I absolutely hate risk. I think it’s a misnomer that entrepreneurs somehow are in love with risk and making big gambles and taking big bets. I think that’s probably true for some. It’s certainly not true for me. And I think it’s certainly not true for a large constituency of other successful entrepreneurs. 

I think the act of putting yourself in a position where you’re not forced to take on all this risk and bet everything is the hallmark of running things well.

— David on “The 8BIT Podcast.” He talks business philosophy, 37signals, and REWORK (interview starts at six minutes in).

This video is a talk DHH gave entitled A Secret To Making Money Online at Startup School in 2008.  I find inspirational and the talk is brilliant, even with his bombastic style.

The second piece is a slide show deck Netflix has shared explaining their corporate culture. It is inspiring, fascinating and transformative. (on Slideshare).

I hope you find them as informative as I do.