Making things that multiply

Good ideas rarely belong in just one place. This week, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share how 37signals lets concepts move freely across products, turning one solid idea into many useful ones. They talk about borrowing from the past without getting stuck in it, giving new concepts time to catch on, and keeping space for creativity as products evolve. Key Takeaways 00:11 – Letting strong ideas travel between products 02:49 – Giving each product its own design voice 07:26 – Bringing back old features when it makes sense 12:03 – Avoiding nostalgia just for the sake of it 17:55 – Using real-world use to guide product improvements 22:10 – Keeping your creative process flexible 23:57 – Leaving space for fun in the design 31:13 – Designing around feel instead of rules Links and Resources Newcity Design magazine Segura Inc. (Carlos Segura’s Design Firm) Fizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.do Record a video question for the podcast Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com Books by 37signals HEY World | HEY The REWORK podcast The Rework Podcast on YouTube The 37signals Dev Blog 37signals on YouTube @37signals on X

You can listen to Making things that multiply online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Making things that multiply is an episode from Rework by 37signals.

This episode is 33:53 long.

This episode was published on Jan 14, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Rework when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.