The people’s path to Basecamp

For many, tools like Asana, Trello, Notion, Monday, ClickUp, and Slack were underwhelming stops along the road before finally arriving at Basecamp.

Brian Garside: Manage Comics

Before finally landing on Basecamp, Brian went through tools like Jira, Slack, and plain old email.

First there were Emails + Meetings: Fine for a while, but eventually not enough.

Google Docs didn’t do it: More documents and spreadsheets
didn’t make things better.

Next it was Slack: Chat made communication faster
than email, but there’s so much more
to collaborating than just talking.

Then Jira got a shot: Too technical, too task-oriented.

Finally, Brian found Basecamp

"Basecamp is my second brain, it’s where I go to document upcoming features, build user stories, and track work.
I couldn’t get by without Basecamp!" —Brian Garside, Manage Comics

Start your path with Basecamp

Brett Robison: Tinnacity

Tinnacity’s path is a common one of combining multiple tools only to find more isn’t better. They did try Basecamp early, but left to play the field a bit. But after exploring other tools, they circled back and rediscovered Basecamp. The rest is history.

They tried Trello + Slack: Trello for tracking work and Slack
for communications didn’t cut it.

Then switched to Basecamp: Next they gave Basecamp a try
but it didnt’t stick. Yet.

Next they tried Airtable + Slack: Back to a combo, this time Airtable
and Slack. But again, not right.

Notion + Slack came next: They kept Slack and swapped in Notion
for Airtable. But still, too many holes.

Finally, back to just Basecamp for good

"Eventually we landed back on Basecamp because we like the peacefulness of it (versus Slack status and getting interrupted all day). We really enjoy To-dos and Automatic Check-ins to keep our company connected." —Brett Robison, Tinnacity

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Dan Unger: Straight from the Heart

A common path from texting and email through a handful of popular tools, only to continually feel like something was lacking. Until they tried Basecamp.

Started with Texts + Emails: "We started with texting and email
but it just got too crazy and messy."

Next, moved to Trillian: "We didn’t use it for long because it was
just like emails and texting. We wanted to
be able to do more (documents, lists, etc)."

Then over to Slack: Chat was chaotic
and inadequate.

Then layered-in Google Drive: "Slack + Google Drive gave us
documents with communication,
but the project part was lacking."

Maybe Monday would do it?: Nope. "Just fell short of what
we were looking to do."

Finally, they found Basecamp

"Once we used Basecamp, it had everything we wanted. Thanks for a wonderful product and giving a nonprofit discount. We wouldn’t be able to afford without it, but also wouldn’t be functioning as sufficiently. Forever thankful!" —Dan Unger, Straight from the Heart

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Johanne Brierre: NYbeautysuites

A friend recommended Basecamp to Johanne after her false starts with Slack, Asana, and Google Docs.

First up was Slack: Needed more than chat.

Then it was Asana: Not the right fit.

She tried Google Docs: Wasn’t getting it done.

Then her friend recommended Basecamp

"My friend Andres, who runs a digital agency, recommended Basecamp to me. It’s become a game-changer — one of the best platforms for managing a small team, especially for women founders like myself." —Johanne Brierre, NYbeautysuites

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Fernando Araujo: Sirius

After a number of false starts and frustrations — even building their own app — they finally found Basecamp, the perfect hassle-free solution they needed.

They began with WhatsApp: "Our first attempt. We realized that
the easier the access to chat,
the less we produced."

Gave Slack a shot: "Too much chat, but we started
to understand the value of
organized debates."

Moved over to Notion: "Wow, we could document here!
But there were too many features,
it was hard to know where to start."

Even built their own app!: "We built an asynchronous app
(a bold move, huh?! lol), but it
still lacked balance."

Tried out Teams: "Teams has everything you need, they said.
We found the interruptions via chat, video,
audio outweighed collaboration."

Simple, distraction-free,
with only the essentials

"A friend introduced me to Basecamp. It was simple and distraction-free. It doesn’t have all the features I might want — and that’s exactly why it’s so good. It focuses only on the essentials." —Fernando Araujo, Sirius

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Alex De Simone: Avochato

Another common path through some big names and popular options, but they kept running into needless complexity and chaos along the way. Basecamp was their simple salvation.

First they tried Trello: Started here in 2017, was simple to
use for Kanban-type features but at
the time it lacked some features
which took us to Monday.

Then came Monday: Started getting chaotic for roadmap
and feature planning. Items were lost,
the card view was confusing to use.

Slack got a swing: Too many channels (more channels
than employees) as it morphed into
a task management product. Didn’t
work for task management.

Then it was Notion: Style was too free-form, pages took
a long time to load, OK for help center
& internal documentation but not for
collaboration and task management
(which is what we needed).

Basecamp just made sense

"We landed with Basecamp for simplicity and ease of use. Pricing helped too, fair pricing and scales with us. With Basecamp our team is more focused (less distracted than with Slack) and can get tasks done in their own focused time." —Alex De Simone, Avochato

Start your path with Basecamp

Ryan Almusawi: Clarion Accounting

Like so many others, they bounced around from one tool to the next, never finding the perfect fit — until they discovered Basecamp.

They started out with Texts: "Vital details vanish into the void,
leaving us piecing things together
like a mystery. It’s too unreliable to
trust with our business operations."

Then they moved on to ClickUp: "A labyrinth of endless features that
suffocates simplicity. We spent more
time figuring it out than actually
getting work done."

Next up, it was Notion: "Notifications are a lost cause, like
shouting into the void. If we can’t rely
on it to nudge us, what’s the point?"

And over to Airtable: "Just Google Sheets in fancy clothing,
trying too hard to be what it isn’t. We
needed solutions, not repackaging."

Then they gave Slack a try: "Chaos disguised as communication.
It’s noisy, overwhelming, and managing
external clients was a nightmare — they
struggled to learn the platform and
rarely used it consistently."

Finally, they discovered Basecamp

"Overall, Basecamp just gets us — it’s simple, clear, and keeps everything running smoothly without us pulling our hair out.
Even our clients love it; no confusion, no hassle, just seamless communication and a sense of calm we didn’t know we needed.
It’s been a game-changer." —Ryan Almusawi, Clarion Accounting

Start your path with Basecamp

Ian Parsons: Matogen Digital

Fun path! Lots of trials and combinations and trying to stick multiple tools together only to find out that complexity never pays off. That’s why Matogen Digital traded up for the simplicity of Basecamp.

Got started with Email + Todos: The standard one-two punch
of email and simple to-dos.

Then layered in Google Sheets: They needed to track some stuff,
so here comes the spreadsheet.

Next it was Asana: They needed something more sophisticated,
so they gave Asana a try.

Then Monday got a shot: Monday was put in place to replace
everything else, but it fell flat.

Then back to Slack + Asana: Asana enters the picture again,
this time paired with Slack for chat.

Then Jira + Slack + Asana: Now they added Jira to the mix.
Things are getting messy and
complicated. Too many tools.

Eventually, they dropped everything
and picked up Basecamp

When you can replace Jira, Asana, Slack, Email, and Monday with one product, it’s a very good day. That’s exactly what Ian did when he went with Basecamp. "Thanks for keeping things simple." —Ian Parsons, Matogen Digital

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Sebastien Bossi Croci: Uxo

Sebastien kept trying Slack plus something else, including Slack + Basecamp together, but in the end, Basecamp alone was the sole survivor. It did everything, simpler.

First was Asana + Slack: A common pairing because each
is deficient at what the other offers.

Then Notion + Slack: Slack stayed, but Notion replaced
Asana. But it didn’t pan out.

Then a Basecamp + Slack combo: Next, Basecamp entered the picture,
but Slack stayed too.

Ultimately, Basecamp replaced them all

In the end, it was better to have everything in one tool, in one place. And since Basecamp offers real-time chat, DMing, and external integrations, Slack was no longer needed at all. —Sebastien Bossi Croci, Uxo

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Stefan Straßburger: involve marketing GmbH

Starting with emails and tons of meetings, Stefan and team cycled though Slack and Teams, before falling back to email. Then they discovered Basecamp.

They started with Email: Email "and tons of meetings".
A common starting point.

They gave Slack a shot: Ineffective chaos — the worst kind of busy.

Next, it was Microsoft Teams: Similiar to Slack, but part of the
Microsoft stack. It didn’t work
for all the same reasons.

Then back to Email for a bit: Once the tools failed them,
they fell back to old habits.

Finally, they found Basecamp

"And here the journey ends. Thank god." —Stefan Straßburger, involve marketing GmbH

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Helen Ryan: Flex Design Group

A bunch of tries lead to a bunch of letdowns. Until she found the right fit in Basecamp.

They started with Trello: "Too basic".

Then came Notion: "Too heavy".

ClickUp was next: "Too much".

Asana got a try: "Not quite right".

They even tried Moxie: "Not strong enough".

Finally, Helen found Basecamp

"I was looking for a simple solution that was easy
for both me and clients to keep track of work." —Helen Ryan, Flex Design Group

Start your path with Basecamp

Doug Seidl: Straight-up Digital Marketing

Doug’s path rolls through many of the usual suspects like Trello, ClickUp, and Notion, but ultimately after finding frustration and sliding back to email, Doug found Basecamp.

Things started with Email: A common starting spot, especially
when just starting out and basic
communication is all you need.

Then, they tried Trello: Kanban just wasn’t enough.

Next it was ClickUp’s turn: It had a lot more, but too much more.
More isn’t better when it gets in the way.

Then Email again: Back to good old (but messy) email.

Then it was Notion: Was a document-centric approach
the right one? No, it wasn’t.

Nope, back to Email: An old standby gets called off the bench
once again. But the same weakness emerge.

Finally, they found Basecamp

"Best solution for what I do that I’ve tried... and one clients ACTUALLY participate in when I need that." —Doug Seidl, Straight-up Digital Marketing

Start your path with Basecamp

Lucien Odey: Projektt Technologies

This one features a relapse to Jira + Confluence, only to realize it didn’t work the second time for the same reasons it didn’t work the first time. Then they found their fit in Basecamp.

First up, it was Jira + Confluence: They used Jira + Confluence together,
but "left because they were too fiddly".

Then they tried Microsoft Azure Boards: Looking for something more Kanban-esque,
they went with Azure Boards, but "the UI was
cluttered with tons of Microsoft services".

Then back to Jira: After Azure didn’t pan out, they went back to
Jira + Confluence but it "encouraged the wrong
engineering mindset". Like returning to a bad
relationship, the second time around didn’t
work for the same reasons as the first time.

Finally, Lucien found Basecamp

"I think it’s great. You guys have built a fantastic product. The most interesting ‘feature’ for me is the disciplined thinking it encourages. There’s something about that focused UI view when creating a new message or doc that forces better writing from me. Its value is actually pretty hard to capture in words. Perhaps best say ‘it makes me think better.’" —Lucien Odey, Projektt Technologies

Start your path with Basecamp

"Extremely user friendly"
"Truly amazing!"
"A godsend for our org"
"Simple, quick, powerful"
"So glad I found Basecamp"
"The perfect solution"
"Really great"
"Outstanding"
"Best app for teams"
"Awesome service"
"Gets better and better"
"Great collaboration tool"
"Great software"
"Gold standard PM app"
"Brilliant solution"
"Clean and easy to use"
"Fantastic app"
"Organized and on point"
"Extremely user friendly"
"Truly amazing!"
"A godsend for our org"
"Simple, quick, powerful"
"So glad I found Basecamp"
"The perfect solution"
"Really great"
"Outstanding"
"Best app for teams"
"Awesome service"
"Gets better and better"
"Great collaboration tool"
"Great software"
"Gold standard PM app"
"Brilliant solution"
"Clean and easy to use"
"Fantastic app"
"Organized and on point"

Finally, Brian found Basecamp

Finally, back to just Basecamp for good

Finally, they found Basecamp

Then her friend recommended Basecamp

Simple, distraction-free, with only the essentials

Basecamp just made sense

Finally, they discovered Basecamp

Eventually, they dropped everything and picked up Basecamp

Ultimately, Basecamp replaced them all

Finally, they found Basecamp

Finally, Helen found Basecamp

Finally, they found Basecamp

Finally, Lucien found Basecamp

Simple, distraction-free,
with only the essentials

Eventually, they dropped everything
and picked up Basecamp