Interview with 37Signals' Jason Fried

My fellow Weblogs bloggers Dave Caolo and David Chartier have been extolling the virtues of the Backpack online organizational service of late. If you too are a fan of Backpack, or of its big sister Basecamp, a web-based product management tool, you'll enjoy this interview at workhappy.net with Jason Fried, the force behind these efforts. Fried is churning out cool work. In addition to Backpack and Basecamp, he's developing Ta-da, an online list-making tool, and self-publishing a book, Getting Real, on building web-based applications.

Fried and his company 37Signals are enjoying much success. So what's his secret? Fried attributes it to focusing on building simple tools, and most of all to personal passion for his products. His advice for other would-be online entrepreneurs: be yourself, have your own vision, find something you're passionate about, and go for it. Ah, if only it were that simple.