Soft openings aren't just for restaurants

This week, the team shares a behind-the-scenes look at how they bring in outside beta testers before a product launch. Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share how they invite early users into the mix, what they’re looking for, and how it all shapes the final version. It’s a rare peek into the “guests are coming over” phase of building Fizzy. Key Takeaways 00:12 – Inside Fizzy’s early access phase 02:28 – Selecting beta testers 03:05 – Treating early access as a real-world dry run 07:11 – Cutting the to-do list down to what truly matters 09:59 – Why early access is different from beta testing Links and Resources Record a video question for the podcast Books by 37signals Sign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.com HEY World | HEY The REWORK podcast The Rework Podcast on YouTube The 37signals Dev Blog 37signals on YouTube @37signals on X

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Soft openings aren't just for restaurants is an episode from Rework by 37signals.

This episode is 14:48 long.

This episode was published on Nov 12, 2025.

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