iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 27/09/2026

After being a cmux user for months, I'm now a herdr convert (herdr in Ghostty). Shifted everything to run on my mac mini rather than laptop, it's amazing. Using moshi to access on iPhone. Spaces for projects and tabs for agents by repo (sometimes multiple) works super well.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 17/09/2026

Moved to Chicago with the family this summer. Who should I know here? I'm looking to get plugged into the community - especially founders, builders, and people who write online.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 16/09/2026

We don't do quarterly planning at Buffer. We've tried it in the past, and I always found it felt forced. These days, we revisit strategy in an area when it feels needed. It turns out to be about every six months, but never on a schedule.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 10/09/2026

Companies often take a lagging metric and make it the KPI they're shooting for. The problem is that lagging metrics by definition can only be observed after the fact, so you're kind of chasing your tail.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 08/09/2026

We all have a choice to make right now: build your own tooling around AI, or wait to adopt tooling someone else builds. I often discover and build a workflow that eventually someone does better (and then I upgrade to theirs). It can feel wasteful, but I'd rather be at the forefront than behind.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 09/08/2026

Many companies say they're mission-driven. I think most are actually growth-driven. During a growth season it's easy to tout a mission alongside a great trajectory and everyone's happy. Whether you stay mission-driven through a hard season comes down to who controls the company.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 31/07/2026

One of my favorite side effects of AI is that it's making the web much more open again. For over a decade we've seen platforms increasingly become walled gardens. AI has created pressure for interoperability and we're finally seeing open standards and APIs being embraced again.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 13/07/2026

I've been practicing Japanese again (I lived there as a kid and picked it up again during university, but have lost a lot of it since). I've found out a formula I'm enjoying: daily flash cards (WaniKani is awesome) combined with a show in Japanese with English subtitles I watch a few nights a week.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 29/06/2026

We've recently shifted our AI strategy at Buffer. Rather than packing AI features into the product, our focus is making Buffer great to use with AI. It's about flexibility, interoperability and extensibility. We're making Buffer delightful to use and build upon.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 12/06/2026

The more comfortable you feel sharing your strategy openly, the stronger it likely is. If you feel worried about competitors knowing your strategy, it's probably weak.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 28/05/2026

Testing out @j4ck.xyz’s Buffer menu bar app! Built with the new Buffer API 😄 github.com/j4ckxyz/Buff...

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Reposted by Joel Gascoigne

jack @j4ck.xyz · 27/05/2026

pushed the first version of Buffer Mac to GitHub :) - tangled coming soon 👀 github.com/j4ckxyz/Buff... working on a better app icon + versioning system right now! #bufferAPI

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Reposted by Joel Gascoigne

jack @j4ck.xyz · 27/05/2026

WIP menu bar app for the Mac which lets you instantly post to your configured social profiles via @buffer.com with the new #BufferAPI! gonna fix some annoying last things, then i'll release it on GitHub + Tangled :)

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 27/05/2026

Buffer's API is here. Whether you want to build workflows and agents for your social, build social sharing into your product, or a tool on top of the Buffer platform and userbase, we've got you covered.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 24/05/2026

Within 6 to 12 months, every software product will need an API, MCP, and CLI. More and more, people expect to be able to interact with your product through automation, AI and agents. Historically, platform was a later stage play. Going forward, you won't thrive in this new world without a platform.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 15/05/2026

Today we crossed $25M in ARR at Buffer, a significant milestone for us 🎉 This one has extra meaning for me because now that we're above $25M we're closer to $30M than we are to $20M. This comes after spending literally ~8 years around that $20M number.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 09/05/2026

For transparency to be a genuine value of an organization, it cannot simply be something you join and benefit from. It requires active participation and contribution. This should stretch everyone. It should feel a little uncomfortable because transparency is not easy, but the benefits are real.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 18/04/2026

People see growth and profitability as a tradeoff: when you dial one up, you turn the dial down on the other. In my experience, the times we've grown the fastest have also been the times we've been the most profitable.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 10/04/2026

A healthy freemium base is a growth savings account. Every month a portion upgrades. Remove the free plan and you get a one-time cash-out that looks like growth, but you're really just stealing from your future.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 16/03/2026

I feel like there needs to be an iOS ssh client that has voice-first input. I'd love to keep my Claude Code sessions going via mobile just by talking. Does this exist yet?

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 15/03/2026

I send a regular newsletter with my recent posts, links I've saved, highlights from what I'm reading, the latest Buffer news, and something that's been on my mind. I sent my latest edition a couple of days ago, take a read here and subscribe: joel.is/newsletter/m...

joel.is

Don't backfill by default

March 13, 2026

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 07/03/2026

Michael Porter's productivity frontier concept is playing out in real-time. We have 1-2 years where the frontier is getting pushed out by AI before it settles. We get to decide: wait for best practices to emerge, or engage in rebuilding? At Buffer we're choosing to be in the mess of the frontier.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 24/02/2026

I'm happy to share that the brand new Buffer API is in Public Beta 🎉 Use it for personal automations or to create enhancements to Buffer. It works via MCP, with n8n, or build with it using Claude Code / Codex. Note: this is a beta with limited functionality exposed. Much more to come!

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 16/02/2026

Something I've been having fun with recently: I've been building custom AI agents that help me with my GTD weekly reviews and my time blocking my days. I already had my GTD productivity system pretty well documented in Obsidian, and I had Claude Code create agents based on the documentation.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 23/01/2026

I'm delighted to share that 2025 was one of Buffer's strongest years in our 15-year history. Key results for the year: - $23.4M Annual Run Rate (+20%) - 69,764 Paying Customers (+22%) - 195,928 Monthly Active Users (+19%) - $2.51M Net Income (+1,142%)

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 15/01/2026

A pattern I've noticed as a CEO is that people will sometimes try to save me time by presenting just the specific question or items they're hoping to get sign off on. 🧵 A few thoughts on this:

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 01/12/2025

Buffer just turned 15 years old! And we're fortunate to be closing out our best year in the past 7. We have 69,000 customers, a $23M annual run rate, and will achieve over $2M in profit in 2025. To mark 15 years of Buffer, here are 15 of the key lessons I've leaned first hand as a founder CEO:

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 12/11/2025

Today we're launching Community, which we've built to help you to stay on top of comments and replies across all your social channels. Available now on all Buffer plans, including our free plan.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 10/11/2025

Buffer is largely known as a social media scheduling tool. For publishing posts. And we do a great job of that. But for years now, I've known that posting is only part of the equation. We've been working hard on something new. Coming this Wednesday, November 12.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 27/10/2025

“When people start habitually exercising, even as infrequently as once a week, they start changing other, unrelated patterns in their lives, often unknowingly. Typically, people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work.” – Charles Duhigg

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 16/10/2025

This is one of my favorite charts at Buffer right now. It's the chart of our number of paying customers. It might look like we've just experienced awful churn, but that's not what it is. Those drops are when we proactively cancelled subscriptions for some of our inactive customers.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 20/09/2025

Yesterday I sent the Buffer shareholder update with August results to ~80 alumni and investors. August 2025 key metrics: - MRR: $1,854,462 (+0.88%) - ARR: $22,253,545 (+0.88%) - Customers: 65,815 (+0.69%) - MAU: 185,129 (-3.33%) - ARPU: $28.17 (+0.18%) - Net Income: $296,544.16 (+9.37%)

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 08/09/2025

A great strategy should lead to strong differentiation and lasting results. Ensuring the strategy and culture are aligned can enhance execution and enable you to create something really special.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 25/08/2025

A fun fact to share from Buffer's July financials: our net profit for July 2025 was $271K, which is more than our total profit for the whole of 2024 (and in fact any year since 2020). I can wholeheartedly say we achieved this by getting hyper-focused on serving customers 🚀

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 10/08/2025

If as a founder of a growing company you’re not working with a coach (even better, a therapist too), you’re most likely not uncovering your own flaws and ingrained issues that will ultimately hold back the business sooner or later.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 29/07/2025

There are a few beliefs I've followed as I've built Buffer. One of them is that as I attain personal freedoms through the success of Buffer, I aim to extend those same freedoms to the team. Here are a few examples 🧵 ⬇️

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 17/07/2025

The great companies are the ones that are able to retain a creator and builder mindset, rather than purely being operated and optimized.

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 14/07/2025

"They aren’t a record of my thinking process. They are my thinking process." – Richard Feynman, on his notebooks

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 09/06/2025

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 28/05/2025

Wow, we did it! We have officially achieved a new all-time-high ARR at Buffer 🎉 Our previous all-time-high was $22,384,598 on February 6, 2020. Today, our ARR stands at $22,395,427. This milestone has been 5 years in the making for us, it's going to take a little time to sink in for me personally!

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 02/05/2025

Feeling so much gratitude for this wonderful group of humans as I return from the 12th @buffer.com company retreat in Antalya, Türkiye. 51 weeks of the year, we work together across 49 cities in 21 countries. To get to spend a week in the same place is special, and a vital part of how we operate.

Buffer team photo at our 12th company retreat in Antalya, Türkiye

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 19/04/2025

My experience as a founder CEO has been that I go through alternating phases of feeling clouded, and then those clouds lifting and clarity around important decisions emerging. Some of my thoughts and techniques I've arrived at over time to lead effectively while I feel varying levels of clarity:

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 14/04/2025

Here are Buffer's March 2025 results: – MRR: $1,790,039 (+2.25%) – ARR: $21,480,468 (+2.25%) – Customers: 64,237 (+2.05%) – MAU: 184,026 (+3.88%) – Team Size: 71 (-1 person) – Revenue Per Employee: $302,542 (+3.69%) This is part of the update I sent to shareholders of Buffer. A few reflections ⬇️

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 31/03/2025

"An overall master plan to guide a business for the next ten years is unrealistic on the part of its author and is seldom worth the time and energy" – Charlie Munger

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 02/03/2025

I've been adjusting the way I lead at Buffer, moving away from primarily 1:1 interactions with my direct reports, towards striving for as much transparent and group-based collaboration in projects as possible. A few thoughts ⬇️

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 23/02/2025

“An organization, as a whole, is more conservative and resistant to change than the individuals who comprise it. Do not assume that general agreement will lead to change—it takes substantial energy to move a group, even when all are on board.” - Ed Catmull

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 14/02/2025

We had our team-wide All Hands earlier this week, and each month we celebrate the team anniversaries (we call them Bufferversaries) 🎉 It's so heartwarming to me that we have such a long tenured team. Can you believe there are 49 collective years put into building Buffer here?

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 29/01/2025

Introducing Streaks in Buffer 🪴 Post at least once a week to build your streak – miss a week and it resets. I've found that consistency in social posting leads to compounding benefits. Data confirms it: a 10-week posting streak can lead to 5x more engagement. Try Streaks in Buffer today ✨

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 21/12/2024

Did you know that we publish all of our Shareholder Updates transparently at Buffer? We have a section of our website where we add the exact updates I send out to our shareholders. Key numbers for November: - MRR: $1,647,532 (+1.69%) - ARR: $19,770,381 (+1.69%) - Customers: 59,159 (+1.40%)

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Joel Gascoigne @joel.is · 17/12/2024

Today is a special day at @buffer.com - we just crossed $20M in ARR 🎉🚀 What makes it extra special, is that this is the second time we've reached this milestone. It's been a years-long whole-team effort to achieve the turnaround. Read my longer reflection: joel.is/posts/1734464838

Chart showing Buffer crossing $20M in ARR

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