Jason Fried from 37signals shared a detailed walkthrough of how the company used Basecamp to organize their October 2022 company-wide meetup in Amsterdam.
The event involved flying the entire company to Amsterdam and balancing business meetings with social activities, managed entirely within a dedicated Basecamp project.
All event logistics—including signups, resources, and communications—were centralized in the Basecamp project to streamline access and ensure clarity for attendees.
Action Items
(No explicit action items with owners or due dates were mentioned in this transcript.)
Basecamp Usage for Event Management
The entire company meetup was coordinated using a single Basecamp project, serving as the central hub for all planning and communication.
Key Basecamp tools utilized included:
To-do lists: Used for signups (e.g., lightning talks, t-shirt sizes by group, volunteering for customer support, AV needs).
Docs & Files ("For Reference"): Hosted the definitive agenda, floor plans, group activity details, event tickets, shared photos, and presentation recordings.
Campfire: Provided a chat space for real-time conversations during the meetup.
External integration: A Google Sheets "door" was added for restaurant group dinner signups, accessible directly from the Basecamp project.
Schedule: Enabled scheduling of ad hoc and dated events (e.g., spin class, gym time, support dinner).
Message Board: Used for company-wide announcements, updates on logistics, health regulations, and important changes (e.g., COVID regulation updates, strikes, attendee changes).
All discussions and Q&A regarding specific documents or the agenda occurred in context (via comments directly beneath documents), minimizing information fragmentation.
Decisions
Basecamp chosen as the single, official platform for all event organization and communication—ensured that all information, announcements, and resources were centralized for consistency and accessibility.
Open Questions / Follow-Ups
Attendees are invited to post any further questions about the event or Basecamp usage in the project comments for follow-up.
Requests for additional Basecamp tutorial videos can be submitted in the comments for future consideration.