The Start:

Joel Gascoigne, the founder of Buffer, started his entrepreneurial journey with a background in software development and an interest in social media.

Before launching Buffer, Joel worked on several smaller projects and apps, gaining practical experience in coding, user experience design, and online marketing.

His passion for productivity and simplifying digital tasks led him to continuously explore innovative solutions.

The problem:

Joel identified the problem of inefficient social media management for businesses and individuals.

He noticed how time-consuming it was to manually schedule posts across various platforms, leading to inconsistent online presence and engagement.

To tackle this issue, he created Buffer, a streamlined tool that allows users to schedule and manage social media posts easily and effectively, thereby enhancing their productivity and social media strategy.

Getting his first customers:

Joel spent 7 weeks validating and building the first version of Buffer.

Through guest blogging alone, they acquired approximately 100,000 users within the first 9 months. During this period, he published 10 guest posts.

Many of Buffer's early posts centered on listing social media tools for marketers, naturally including Buffer.

They initially used sites like MyBlogGuest and BloggerLinkUp to find guest blogging opportunities.

Later, they began emailing larger sites directly, identifying the contributions editor, and then sending them a note.

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