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In 2010, Joel Gascoyne founded Buffer in Birmingham, UK, to create a tool that simplifies scheduling social media posts. Seeking new opportunities, the company moved to San Francisco the following year, where it benefited from mentorship and resources from GasPedal AngelPad.

By 2012, Buffer had expanded its reach with specialized apps for iOS, Android, and various web browsers. Seeking transparency, Buffer launched the Buffer Open initiative in 2013, which disclosed company metrics, including real-time revenue and employee salary data. That same year was pivotal for Buffer, as the company reached the impressive milestone of 1 million users. However, it was not without its challenges. In 2013, Buffer experienced a security breach that resulted in spam emails sent from users’ accounts.

Over time, Buffer’s commitment to improving the user experience has become evident. In 2014, the company released Buffer Reply, an app designed to optimize social media interactions. After resolving the domain name issue, the company migrated from bufferapp.com to buffer.com in 2015.

In 2016, the company had $10 million in annual revenue and over 85,000 customers. In 2017, co-founder Leo Widrich left the company, but Buffer kept the momentum going and launched Buffer Analyze in 2019 for detailed social media insights.

By the end of 2020, Buffer had scaled significantly, generating more than $20 million in revenue with more than 100,000 customers. Operating on a modern model, Buffer is a fully distributed company focused on providing top-notch social media management tools.