Buffer
Est. 2010Joel Gascoigne sold Buffer before it existed — a fake 'Plans and Pricing' page that checked if anyone would actually pay.
▶ BUFFER · 2010
BUFFER · 2026 ◀Drag the handle — Buffer, 2010 → 2026.
“Ask them to click a 'pricing plans' button, choose a plan and then give their email and you're actually getting some validated learning.”— Joel Gascoigne, founder of Buffer
The ugly part. Buffer's first version wasn't software — it was two pages. One explained the idea: schedule your tweets to post at the right times. The other, a 'Plans and Pricing' page, let you 'pick' a plan, then admitted there was nothing to buy yet and asked for your email.
What he shipped anyway. He tweeted the link to see what people thought. Enough clicked through the pricing page and left their email to prove they'd pay — so Joel Gascoigne built the real thing in seven weeks of evenings and weekends. The first paying customer arrived within four days of launch.
Now. A profitable social-media company doing millions a year — famous for publishing its salaries and metrics in the open.