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Co-founders, team & legal

Should my startup be remote, hybrid, or in-office?

Remote works and widens your talent pool massively, 37signals has run a calm, remote-first company for two decades, but it demands strong async writing and real trust. Hybrid is often the worst of both if you're sloppy, with in-office people forming a de facto in-group. Pick a model deliberately and design for it; don't drift into a default and hope.

Go deeper

2 resources, 2 link-checked.

📖 Book
✓ Link checked Paid Beginner

A punchy, contrarian classic on building a lean, sane, profitable company from the founders of Basecamp. It's the antidote to hustle-culture folklore about how startups must operate.

Rework

From 37signals by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson ~288 pages

  • Small teams, less process, and shipping beat planning theatre
  • Say no to most things and protect focus
  • You can build a great company without following the standard playbook
Open amazon.com →
📖 Book
✓ Link checked Paid Intermediate

The definitive manifesto for building a 'calm company', remote-friendly, sustainable, and free of chronic overwork, from a team that's lived it for two decades. Essential for founders designing culture and operations.

It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work

From 37signals by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson ~232 pages

  • Sustained output comes from calm and focus, not permanent crunch
  • Default to async, protect deep work, and kill the always-on expectation
  • Reasonable hours and a livable pace are a competitive advantage, not a weakness
Open amazon.com →

Terms in this answer

Remote-First

People also ask

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Also in D2C

The same ground, over in Get legal & compliant, our D2C track.

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Also in How Founders Use AI

How founders actually use AI for this, over in Legal & Contracts.

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Also in GTM

The same ground, over in Build the team, our GTM track.

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