Are they profitable? I'm curious if their generosity to their employees translates to their bottom line in measurable ways.
Almost more than their products, they're known for their very vocal broadcasting against the standard startup focus of investments, valuations, exits, etc...
Their books "Getting Real" and "Rework" represent their bootstrapping, sustainable-business values - they're not timid in speaking out against the nonsense of the modern startup conventional wisdom.
Personally, I think it's a very refreshing and empowering voice for entrepreneurs. It's not without controversy though, so dig in to their content for yourself to make your own judgement. (FWIW - "Getting Real" is a free PDF out there somewhere. I recommend it, though others may or may not.)
I don't know if their generosity to their employees translates to their bottom line. I think it works the other way: they are profitable enough that they can afford to be generous to their employees. The 37signals model seems to be: 1) have amazing people working for you 2) treat them really well. It's highly effective, but you need to have cash in the bank to get to step 1.
"Pricing starts at $20/month."
If you also read the articles, how is that other stuff difficult to find out? It's like a google query away...
The make a SaaS offering for groupware (coordination, scheduling, chat, etc).
They also created the Ruby On Rails framework, related to which you'll see 2-3 articles per day on HN.
They also wrote a few business books, two of which have been NYT best-sellers.
The make several million dollars a year, and have tens of thousands of customers.
Their business, a standard profitable, bootstrapped business if a ever saw one, is often sneered by startup kiddies on HN because they haven't sold their company for VC mega-bucks or had a huge IPO, VA Lin^H^H^H^H^H^H Google style. (Normal companies are apparently passe in the web 3.0 age -- a new Apple would be something to point and laugh at, a Ben & Jerry's even more so).
I find the very term "lifestyle businesses" condescending. They are bona fide businesses, nothing "lifestyle" about them. Not every business has to be on the stock market or cash-out for big bucks --or even make "billions"
You know what's cooler than a billion dollars? Doing what you like, making a living and employing as many people you can, without turning into a money making monster where what exactly you're making is not as important as ever increasing your revenues and finding new cash-cows.
Pivot, for me, is another word for "my goal is to make money, not to build something specific".
In all seriousness though, I 100% agree with you, especially on companies that pivot to something lightyears away from their original purpose. Chasing money isn't always a bad thing, but it is when it's the only thing.