May 2024 Shareholder Update

ℹ️ Sent to shareholders on June 12, 2024

Hi there,

I’ll be sharing the metrics and key updates for Buffer for May 2024. I’m happy to take any questions or comments while Joel is away on family leave.

For the past two consecutive months, we have successfully closed with a profit. Our revenue saw a notable increase of $25,000 from April to May, driven by a $17,000 rise in monthly and yearly revenue and an additional $8,000 from mobile revenue. In April, we introduced new downgrade logic, and May marked the first full month with this new system in place. One significant factor behind the increased revenue is the elimination of credits for unused time when customers downgrade their subscriptions mid-term. Additionally, our total operating expenses (OPEX) reached their lowest level since early 2020. This reduction in OPEX is attributed to six current open roles on the team, which include five backfills for recently departed team members and a new role for a marketing automation manager. We anticipate that OPEX will return to more typical levels, approximately $1.3 million per month, once these positions are filled.

Note-worthy updates and reflections

Facebook Stories Scheduling

On May 21, we rolled out Facebook Stories scheduling to 100% of users. Users can now use Buffer to schedule your video content for Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories and Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok in just a couple of clicks.

Improved Channel Connection Flow

Our goal was to achieve reliability and consistency in our channel connection flows. This project originated due to discrepancies in how channel connections operated in Onboarding compared to the Account app, as well as between web and mobile apps. With the refactored code, we now have a unified and consistent approach across all implementations and channels, resulting in significantly fewer bugs, reduced re-work, and simplified bug-hunting. This refactor also lowers the time and effort needed to implement new API-based channels. Additionally, we saw this project as an opportunity to enhance the user experience across various channel connection interfaces. Our event and error tracking fidelity has greatly improved, making it easier to identify issues and opportunities at every stage of the connection flow.

Team wide performance reviews

In May, we kicked off our semi-annual performance review cycle. This included self-reviews, manager reviews,  and “up” reviews where teammates were asked to share feedback with their managers.

Team Wide Support Time (TWST)

Following an incredible team-wide support session during our March retreat, we decided to incorporate this experience into our regular work routines. The aim of Team Wide Support Time is to bring the team closer to our customers, foster a deeper understanding of their needs and pain points, and strengthen our relationships with users. We kicked off our first TWST in May and the team agreed that it built off of the momentum from our retreat really nicely.

Coming Up: Product Launches

• Bluesky scheduling
• Threads scheduling
• LinkedIn personal profile analytics

Profitability

As I mentioned above, May marks our second straight month of profitability in 2024. This brings our Net Income, YTD, to a loss of $269,000. Gaining and growing paid subscribers will continue to be a core focus of ours as we make our way back to profitability

That’s it for May. We’ll be back in touch in July to share our June results. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments.

Thanks for your continued support!

Jenny, Head of Finance