Business POV

This segment is being brought to you by BusinessPOV in partnership with MidwestBusiness.com as part of a new interview series that will be running weekly.

37signals is a leader on the national tech scene, based on its popular web-based software products and its keen ability to self-promote, via its blog, Signal vs. Noise, and its recent book "Getting Real," which was self-published through the web. Here, founder Jason Fried talks about the company's unique philosophy and what it's been like working with Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, an investor in the company.

37signals has a staff of 8 people and makes five major products, all based around the idea of collaboration: Basecamp, Ta-da list, Campfire, Backpack and the newly launched Highrise. The company is also the force behind the open-source web-application framework called Ruby on Rails.

When Fried first launched the company in 1999 it was a web design firm. In 2003, it built Basecamp for its own internal purposes and decided to launch it to the public in 2004. The corner had been turned. Now its main objectives are to create new software programs that aid project management and make collaborating with clients and colleagues easier.