
Buffer bucks the startup secrecy trend as it finds growth - sunils34
http://gigaom.com/2012/11/06/buffer-bucks-the-startup-secrecy-trend-as-it-finds-growth/
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sgdesign
Is being open about your startup really "bucking the trend"? Maybe I hang out
on HN too much, but it'd seem to me that the trend is actually being
transparent.

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brackin
Buffer is a brilliant team and a catalyst for how SaaS companies should be
ran. I started following Joel and then eventually Leo about a month after the
first landing page went live and from then people I spoke to about it could
see that this was going to be valuable. Some asked if it was only a feature.

Though the product was relatively simple and wasn't compatible with all of the
applications it is today. The team behind it were extremely passionate about
it and were great at customer development. I'd send a tweet with a product
idea or reply to a post on their blog and I'd near-immediately see a reply. As
a customer this tells me they're in it for the long haul, they aren't going to
pivot next week and it's worth devoting myself to this platform. They are
doing all they can to make a great product and share it with the world.

The value of interacting with your customers is an art that they have to an
extent mastered. When you tweet or email buffer you quickly receive a reply,
in any article about them the team is thanking users. If you build a great
product and really engage with users. You'll definitely build a troop of
evangelists willing to pay for the product and spread the world to as many as
they can and as you continue to share your vision more of the free users will
join this group. This is why they are gaining traction, being built into more
apps as a sharing option and I wouldn't be surprised if more are paying. The
pricing is dead simple, they could easily charge much more.

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biscarch
Inspiration acquired. +1 to the Buffer guys for being so transparent.

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bravoyankee
Personally, I'm absolutely sick of Buffer. Damn, they email me more than most
services I use, they publish regularly on several blogs which you can find on
the front page of HN practically every day of the week, and they guest blog on
a number of high traffic social media sites.

Yes Buffer, you know how to game the press. Yes, you are hustlers. You have
controlled HN better than anyone I have ever seen (the herd mentality on HN is
very real, you know this), but man, there is such a thing as over-exposure.

If HN truly is about learning about and helping other startups, Buffer needs
to take a back seat and let others get some exposure.

P.S. That is the startup "secret". Publish on multiple blogs, maximum leverage
with your email list, make alliances with other apps, guest post on high
traffic websites and game HN RELENTLESSLY. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.

