I write on HEY World and X. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube or send me an email to dhh@hey.com.
Creator of Ruby on Rails
I created Ruby on Rails in 2003, and today companies that got their start with the framework are worth more than half a trillion dollars combined. Like Shopify, Airbnb, Coinbase, Square, Instacart, Gusto, 1Password, Github, and X to mention a few.
In 2022, I started The Rails Foundation to improve the documentation, education, marketing, and events in the ecosystem to the benefit of all new and existing Rails developers. I serve as its chairman.
Creator of Omarchy
Omarchy is a fun, beautiful & opinionated Linux system that I created in search of The Perfect Computer. It looks and works nothing like what you're used to with Mac or Windows. It's already been adopted by well over a hundred thousand pioneers searching for an operating system willing to embrace the age of agents, the malleable machine, and looks like The Future.
In 2026, I started the Omacom Foundation, a nonprofit that holds the trademarks, funds the infrastructure, promotes the work, and supports the open-source projects and developers Omarchy depends on. Ten founding patrons have put up $10 million to make the prophecy of The Year of Linux on the Desktop actually come true. I serve as its president.
Co-owner of 37signals
37signals is the company behind Basecamp, HEY, and many other software products. I own that business together with Jason Fried. We've been around since 1999.
Basecamp is the one-place-not-all-over-the-place way to organize your projects and your company. Launched in 2004 as one of the first software-as-a-service applications, and used by millions of people since. It's the original Rails application.
HEY is a fresh approach to turning email into something you want to use, not something you’re forced to deal with. A complete alternative to Gmail or Outlook for individuals and companies who want a better relationship with email. Tens of thousands of customers have embraced it since we launched in 2020.
Besides our two flagship applications, we have a long history of other successful legacy SaaS services, like Highrise, Campfire, Backpack, and, recently, Fizzy for a fresh take on Kanban, as well as ONCE with free host-it-yourself services like Campfire and Writebook.
Best-selling author
I've written four books together with Jason Fried. All on the lessons we've extracted from running 37signals in an unconventional way over the last twenty-plus years.
REWORK is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Sunday Times best seller with more than a million copies sold. It's a book about starting and running businesses a better way.
It Doesn't Have To Be Crazy At Work is about how to run a calm company by avoiding the lure of excessive growth and making your time count for more.
REMOTE: Office Not Required encapsulated all we'd learned working remotely for over a decade. Ahead of its time, but suddenly extremely relevant after 2020.
Getting Real shared everything we learned building Basecamp and a software business back in the early days. Still on point.
Le Mans & WEC class-winning racing driver
I've raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans thirteen times since 2012. I won my class with Aston Martin in 2014, finished second in LMP2 in 2015, and third with Porsche in 2016. In 2017, I stood on the overall podium with Rebellion Racing. I raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship for seven years, mostly in LMP2 prototypes, but have also contested IMSA, ELMS, and iconic races like the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. I'm currently racing LMP2 in IMSA together with fellow programmer and Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke.
Investor in Danish startups
I started investing in Danish software entrepreneurs while living in Denmark from 2020-2023. To help build the next generation of strong companies with solid roots in Denmark, I invested in Workfeed, Ziik, Turis, Servicelovers, and, most recently, Upteko. All focused on software and tech but based in Denmark and with the intent to remain there. In 2023, I was awarded IT-Prisen in part for this engagement in the Danish startup scene. (I'm not making new startup investments at the moment.)
Shopify board member
Shopify is the leading hosted e-commerce platform in the world, responsible for a sizable portion of all online sales, and with a market cap over $100 billion, the most successful Ruby on Rails company of all time. And since November of 2024, I've been on the board of directors.
Podcast guest
Here are some of my favorite appearances with Lex Fridman (Part I), David Senra, NetworkChuck, The Pragmatic Engineer, ThePrimeagen, and Typecraft. I'm also a regular on The REWORK Podcast.
Family man
I'm married to Jamie. Together we have three kids.
Pictures
