
I Joined Buffer 3 Days Before The Retreat: Here Are My Retreat Reflections
What it was like to join a fully remote team like Buffer, and how going on the company retreat so early on helped shape my journey in ways I hadn’t imagined.
A transparent company since 2010
Since 2013, we’ve been open with Buffer’s finances and our team’s salaries, among many other metrics. We share openly because we believe in the power of transparency to build trust, hold us accountable to a high standard, and push our industry forward.
This is a dashboard for anyone to see how we’re building Buffer.
Buffer was accepted into AngelPad startup accelerator, with initial $120,000 investment
Buffer raised a small seed round of $330,000, to bring total funding to $450,000
Read more about Buffer in december 2011Our founders had visa troubles and started traveling while growing Buffer, the team grew to 7 people by August
Read more about Buffer in january 2012Buffer’s first all-company retreat took place in Lake Tahoe
Read more about Buffer in august 2013We had a cash-flow crisis resulting in several financial changes at Buffer, including a round of lay offs
Read more about Buffer in june 2016What it was like to join a fully remote team like Buffer, and how going on the company retreat so early on helped shape my journey in ways I hadn’t imagined.
If you’ve followed Buffer for a while, then you know we have a few uncommon approaches to teammate benefits and compensation. The example I’ll dig into today is our “Dependent Grant,” which we launched in 2016. Our Dependent Grant is separate benefit, outside of salary, that we grant teammates who are taking care of and supporting family members. It’s an extra $3,000 USD per year per child, up to four dependents total. This has been one of our most unusual (and at times controversial) benefits
It can feel incredibly challenging to hire, and hire well. For one thing, hiring is usually a significant time investment for our small team — we once had 1,500 applications in just over a week for a content role (!!) — but beyond that, we are so intentional about the ways that we collaborate. Buffer is a fully remote, global, and culturally diverse company operating with a four-day work week. Finding someone who will thrive in our work environment, and is also highly skilled in the areas we’r
We’ve always had teammates who have side projects in addition to working at Buffer. Working on new projects, building, experimenting, and self-improvement are built into our DNA as a company. So it's quite common to be speaking with someone only to find out they own a small business outside of Buffer that started as a side project. We also have several published authors and many apps built by Buffer teammates. We believe this entrepreneurial spirit and creative drive not only enhances our indiv