Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, they are willing to forego significant salary because they will control most of the profits.
Profits? You must be joking.
They recently took around $3m off the table if I recall correctly.
Buffer Layoffs
371–380 of 429 posts
Re: Buffer Layoffs
#372This may be a little cynical but: "With our culture of bringing our whole selves to work and seeing team as family, with shared values we live by,..." In the American business world, you are an employee until you aren't. Confusing being an employee with being "family" is a mistake, both for the company and the employee. When times get bad, companies do what it takes to survive, including throwing employees overboard.…
> Buffer may have thought it was different, but that flow-chart of how they decided who to layoff was entirely about how an employee can help the company
To be fair, this is not quite correct. The flow chart shows they fired the most recent people in redundant roles. Not the "worst" performing (what I guess Netflix would have done) or highest salaried. Giving seniority the benefit of the doubt, instead of only using unemotional cost/benefits analysis, is rewarding loyalty and is protecting "the tribe".
Re: Buffer Layoffs
#373Two things jumped out at me. 1) They planned to spend 1/3 of their remaining cash on flying people around the world to meet f2f. Whoah! They need a CFO with some real power, because that is absurd. 2) Speaking of needing a CFO, one of the first things a CFO will probably point out to them is that their cash target is off by 100%. They're targeting hitting 50% of today's ARR sometime next year, yet they plan to grow A…
AFAIK the graph shows difference between monthly revenue and expenditure. Reduce the costs, and it will turn up (if the revenue stays).
Re: Buffer Layoffs
#374Earlier quoted context omitted.
3% absolutely does keep up with inflation[1][2] (whether it adequately compensates for increased experience as well is another matter). The last 10 years US inflation was 3.2,2.9,3.8,-0.4 1.6,3.2,2.1,1.5,1.6,0.1 according to the world bank[2]. Giving the US an average inflation rate of just 1.96%. [1]: http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-infla... [2]: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FP.CPI.TOTL…
Those may be inflation figures given my the government, but real life has real inflation -- like things that are not counted in the world bank inflation period. Could of questions to think about: - In real life, how much has your rent gone up by? - In real life, how much have your medical premiums and co-pays increased? - In real life, how much have your drug co-pays gone up?
<2%, 0%, and 0% respectively (annualized). You have to recognize that the inflation figures are a national average - of course there are a lot of people experiencing more inflation than that, just like there are a lot experiencing less.
Re: Buffer Layoffs
#375Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you saying it is customary to fly people business class in the Valley, rather than coach? Especially for a team retreat?
I cannot speak for Valley customs. But all of the (non-Valley) companies I'm familiar with extend business class to employees for international travel as a matter of policy.
fwiw I've done a fair bit of international flying as an engineering guy over the decades and the only time I flew biz class was when going to an interview at Microsoft 20 years ago. Good times...
Re: Buffer Layoffs
#376Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do not understand devs who justify low salaries this way. Why make 50% of your potential?
I'm not justifying low salaries; i'm saying that $155,000 is plenty.
"plenty" by what metric? It seems to be less than market rate (for good experienced developers). What other metric should we use?
Re: Buffer Layoffs
#377On deciding to not raise funds from venture capitalists:
"This has some implications on the true growth rate we can expect, yet it has significant benefits we feel in terms of the freedom we have to experiment not only with innovation in products but also in the way we work."
I think this reflects an important, often over looked point. Many people want to start a business because they prefer to not have a boss, and be able to make their own decisions.
In many ways, raising capital from outsiders can just replace one boss with another. Now you have to make your investors happy, even when it leads to different decisions than what you might make otherwise.
Re: Buffer Layoffs
#378This may be a little cynical but: "With our culture of bringing our whole selves to work and seeing team as family, with shared values we live by,..." In the American business world, you are an employee until you aren't. Confusing being an employee with being "family" is a mistake, both for the company and the employee. When times get bad, companies do what it takes to survive, including throwing employees overboard.…
Spot on. The same is true in the UK. I've liked a lot of my colleagues over the years, and still count a fair few as friends, but the idea of a business being "family"? No way.
Working for a company is a transaction, plain and simple, unless of course it's your company. That obviously changes things, because you'll inevitably be more invested in it - including emotionally.
Learned the hard way by a man with powerful emotions.
Re: Buffer Layoffs
#379This may be a little cynical but: "With our culture of bringing our whole selves to work and seeing team as family, with shared values we live by,..." In the American business world, you are an employee until you aren't. Confusing being an employee with being "family" is a mistake, both for the company and the employee. When times get bad, companies do what it takes to survive, including throwing employees overboard.…
True, an employer-employee relationship is very different from family relationships.
However, I would have really appreciated this level of detail and transparency when I was laid off. I think the first thing the person who called me to lay me off said over the phone was "So you probably know why I'm calling."
Uh, no, yes? Is this supposed to be a guessing game?
Re: Buffer Layoffs
#380Earlier quoted context omitted.
alas, usually in cutting environments like this the caustic assholes are the ones who stay and the ones who haven't presented their output in the best way are the ones who will be cut.
You're assuming that you have to be an asshole to get/make your results noticed. And yes, those who sit in a corner doing stuff nobody cares about will be fired, and rightfully so.
I think the implication was that those who sit in a corner doing stuff fundamental to the company's success, who don't present themselves well to the decision makers, will still get cut.