# Joel Gascoigne

> Joel Gascoigne is the co-founder and CEO of Buffer, the social media software company he launched in November 2010. His public writing documents product validation, remote work, transparent salaries, financial mistakes and the investor buybacks behind Buffer’s independent direction. He also writes about learning, supports early-stage founders as an angel investor and advisor, and is developing Buffer around generosity, extensibility and long-term customer value.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Buffer
- **Organizations:** Buffer
- **From:** Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
- **Education:** University of Warwick
- **Known for:** Launched and continues to lead Buffer, founded in 2010., Helped establish a public salary system at Buffer, with salaries shared since 2013., Led a $3.3 million Series A investor buyback in 2018.

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Launched Buffer on November 30 after testing demand with a landing page; acquired a paying customer within four days.
- **2011** — Moved toward full-time work on Buffer with co-founder Leo Widrich; joined AngelPad and raised a total of $450,000 that year.
- **2012** — Committed to Buffer operating as a fully distributed company.
- **2013** — Published company values and introduced public salary transparency.
- **2014** — Turned down a nine-figure acquisition offer; raised a $3.5 million Series A with founder and early-team liquidity.
- **2015** — Tried a flat, self-managed organizational structure, later restoring hierarchy and clearer accountability.
- **2016** — Announced ten layoffs after hiring outpaced revenue growth, taking public responsibility for the decisions.
- **2017** — Co-founder Leo Widrich and CTO Sunil Sadasivan left Buffer.
- **2018** — Buffer spent $3.3 million buying out seven Series A investors to support an independent direction.
- **2025** — Discussed Buffer’s multi-year revenue decline and recovery at Business of Software.
- **2026** — Announced $25 million ARR in May and Buffer Commit, an API build contest, in October.

## Achievements

- Launched and continues to lead Buffer, founded in 2010.
- Helped establish a public salary system at Buffer, with salaries shared since 2013.
- Led a $3.3 million Series A investor buyback in 2018.
- Announced Buffer crossing $25 million in annual recurring revenue on May 14, 2026.
- Built a distributed company and publicly documented its operating decisions.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — On October 15, announced Buffer Commit: a $25,600 prize pool, 16 winners and an October 28-November 13 build window for API projects.
- **2026-10** — On October 6, praised Ismail El Azizi’s Proto as an important Buffer prototyping and workflow tool.
- **2026-09** — On September 28, argued that SaaS products need less friction and greater flexibility as customers gain the ability to build alternatives with AI.
- **2026-07** — On July 12, shared his return to studying Japanese.
- **2026-06** — On June 28, described Buffer’s AI strategy as making the product work well with AI through flexibility, interoperability and extensibility.
- **2026-06** — On June 12, described generosity, the free plan and API access as a long-term business strategy.
- **2026-05** — On May 14, reported that Buffer crossed $25 million ARR.
- **2026-05** — On May 3, reflected on Buffer’s thirteenth retreat, in Barcelona.
- **2026-02** — On February 24, announced Buffer’s new API in public beta.

## Links

- Website: https://joel.is/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgascoigne
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/joelgascoigne
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/joel.is
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/joelgascoigne
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/joelg

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joel-gascoigne
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22