Embracing clouds and clear skies
December 15, 2024newsletter
Hi there,
I'm back to share my recent social posts, links I've saved in the past few weeks, highlights I've made in books, articles, and podcasts, a current topic thatβs been on my mind, and a general personal update.
I'm Joel Gascoigne, Founder CEO of Buffer. My goal with this newsletter is to learn in public and share insights into how I operate while building a long term, independent, profitable business with big ambitions.
What caught your eye from this edition? Hit reply and let me know.
π¬ My top recent posts
If I were to rebrand Founder Mode, I would suggest Back To Basics Mode or First Principles Mode.
What strikes me about Founder Mode is that what it's really about, is cutting through the cruft of process and structure in a company, and getting back to the core of what made it exist in the first place.
Very rarely are there correct ways when it comes to how to build a business. Trying to find the correct way is a trap. What we must strive for is to find our way.
The challenge is most of our upbringing is focused on drilling into us that there is a correct way for everything.
I recently joined Mark MacLeod on his podcast The Startup CEO Show. It was a lot of fun to talk with him about the journey of building Buffer and some of the values and principles I lead the company with.
β¦ view full post on: LinkedIn β’ Threads β’ Bluesky β’ π β’ Mastodon β’ Instagram
π Links I saved recently
What Is Strategy?
β This is a seminal piece by Michael Porter about what makes a strong strategy and how to achieve sustained results. Written almost 30 years ago for Harvard Business Review, this five-part article feels timeless and perhaps more relevant than ever.
Team-oriented, outcome-oriented
β A valuable article that has given some useful terminology to a pattern that I've observed within Buffer: some people care about helping their team, others care about achieving outcomes. While you can never generalize and categorize people in a binary way like this, it is useful to understand which way folks in your team lean, and the implications of having an imbalance between these two motivations.
Write in the moment
β I enjoyed this short article exploring the value of only writing when inspiration strikes and you feel in the flow, versus treating writing as a skill you should be consistent in practicing whether you feel like it or not.
π What Iβve highlighted recently
Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. Your stuff starts out being just for you, in other words, but then it goes out. Once you know what the story is and get it rightβas right as you can, anywayβit belongs to anyone who wants to read it. Or criticize it.
β Stephen King in On Writing
Identify your superpowers. Because if you identify your superpowers and work in accordance with them, you will do the best work of your life. You will love it. And you will be great at it. And you won't have that frustration.
β Shreyas Doshi on Lenny's Podcast - 4 Questions Shreyas Doshi Wishes Heβd Asked Himself Sooner
I cannot imagine any company that wants to make the best product of its kind being staffed by people who do not care passionately about the product.
β Yvon Chouinard in Let My People Go Surfing
π¨π»βπ» New and noteworthy at Buffer
Instagram for Everyone
You can now add your personal Instagram profile to Buffer and schedule posts via reminder notifications. This update gives you the flexibility to manage Instagram your way, whether youβre here to share memories, grow your influence, or build your business.
Buffer's Q3 Results
Here's a snippet of my reflection on Q3 results which I sent out to Buffer shareholders recently:
We ended Q3 2024 with $1,602,052 in MRR or $19,224,628 in ARR. This represents 3.46% growth from Q2, which is our strongest quarterly growth in almost 5 years. We also grew paying customers by 2.89% to 57,666, our strongest growth in over 6 years. We continued our trend from Q2 of profitability in each month of Q3, and achieved a net income of $125,289 for the quarter.
β Read the September and Q3 2024 Shareholder Update in full
Video support for Bluesky
We continue to invest in Bluesky as a channel within Buffer, and a couple of weeks ago added the ability to share videos to this new fast-growing social network. If you haven't had a chance to check out Bluesky yet, I can highly recommend it. It's a refreshing, supportive community and it's worth experiencing this new open and decentralized social network.
π§ Something thatβs been on my mind
Embracing clouds and clear skies
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. When the clouds have cleared, I feel in flow and focused and I can give direction to my team.
Whenever I am feeling clarity, before long I inevitably hit a new patch of feeling clouded around certain issues or opportunities that newly arise. I've come to believe that these cycles are part of the journey, and as hard as it can sometimes feel to be clouded and indecisive, there is value in those clouds.
Clear skies drive strong execution, and with strong velocity you can easily start to go a little off course. This is especially the case when you're working as a team. As the leader, I see my role as setting a clear direction, and then being involved enough to spot where course corrections are needed.
What I've realized, is that the clouds start to form above me when I know, sometimes subconsciously, that there is an adjustment to make, or there is a powerful opportunity to be uncovered. In that sense, the clouds are a gift. The clouds represent a powerful breakthrough or an important correction, which will lead to better outcomes.
Over the years, I've become a little more aware of when clouds have started to form. I can sense in myself that I'm feeling clouded, and decisions aren't coming as easily. Rather than sit at my desk and try to grind it out, I've found there are things I can do to help the clouds lift and the clear skies emerge. I'll just get up and go for a walk. Or start writing a journal entry. Pacing around my patio can sometimes bring rapid clarity. Working out can bring the clear skies too.
I still find it hard when I'm clouded, but I'm learning to embrace both the clouds and the clear skies. I think both are vital parts of the journey.
ππ»ββοΈ A general update from me
I've been experiencing one of those clarity-emerging moments after a period of clouds, particularly around Buffer's direction. After several strong quarters of growth and some time reflecting more deeply on our strategy, we've been working through adjustments to team structure to meet the opportunity. It feels like we're setting ourselves up for a strong 2025. On the personal side, our youngest is finally starting to sleep better through the night. I'm feeling a renewed commitment to be consistent with my strength workouts so that I can see some real progress over the coming months.
Have a great week ahead,
β Joel