I believe that when a business shifts to value extraction instead of value creation, it's the beginning of the end.

With Buffer, I’m trying to operate with what I’d call an “under-extraction” philosophy. Create real value for customers and lean into generosity in how we package it.

I love how Tobi Lütke from Shopify put it: "Your customers notice if you're going into value extraction." The way he describes his job is inspiring: "adding as many levers as possible to the room and then not pulling any of them."

In the past few years we've added countless new features and improvements without raising our prices. In recent years we've added the majority of new functionality to our free plan. We've never made people jump through hoops to cancel, and a few months ago we proactively cancelled subscriptions for inactive customers. We emailed them and said: unless you respond or start using the product again, we'll cancel at your next renewal.

I want to put minimal energy into value extraction with Buffer. I believe that pouring our energy into how we can create the most value possible will mean that our results take care of themselves. The goal is to build real loyalty with customers and achieve genuinely sustainable long-term growth.