Here's an interesting 37 Signals tidbit. According to The Tech Beat from Businessweek, the guys over at 37 Signals have decided to take on a VC Investor. But not just any investor. Amazon's Jeff Bezos is the sole VC investor (Bezos Expiditions to be exact).
“Since we launched Basecamp we’ve been contacted by nearly 30 different VC firms. We’ve never been interested in the typical traditional VC deal. With a few exceptions, all the VCs could offer us was cash and connections. We’re fine on both of those fronts. We don’t need their money to run the business and our little black book is full. We’re looking for something else.
What we’ve been looking for is the wisdom of a very special entrepreneur who’s been through what we’re going through. Someone who sees things a little differently and makes us feel right at home. Someone with a long term outlook, not a build-to-flip mentality. We found a perfect match in Jeff. Jeff is our kinda guy.”
Personally, I think this is a pretty smart move on both ends. For 37 Signals, it is in line with their strategy of keepings things small and simple. For Bezos—he's got a stake in a group of individuals who know how to produce the next generation of Web software. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
