Back to Ownership

As a company with plans to continue to exist independently for the long-term, our approach to liquidity needs to be different than the norm.

Given that 1) we’ve chosen to give the team ownership in the form of stock options, 2) we have no plans for dividends, and 3) we are not seeking an exit, this leads us to regular liquidity events being our choice to enable shareholders to realize value in their ownership. For background on this decision, read about How we’re approaching liquidity as a long term company.

Before we jump in to further details, a few reminders

• You own stock or options in a private company, with no guarantee of liquidity.
• As a private entity, there is no public market for trading Buffer stock. Liquidity is inherently limited and may remain that way for an extended period of time.
• Opportunities for liquidity, such as a company buyback, liquidity program, or secondary sale, are not guaranteed.
• The ability to sell or convert stock options into cash depends on market conditions, company performance, and investor interest, which are subject to change.

Our plan for regular liquidity events

• On some regular cadence, such as every 2 years, we will aim to facilitate a liquidity event between shareholders and external investors
• The goal will be to find 3-5 aligned investors who are interested in purchasing stock from existing shareholders, be it team members, alumni or investors
• We would work with both sides of this market to determine the demand for selling stock, as well as the demand for buying stock
• We will reach out in advance to gauge interest in selling shares
• With that number, we will go out and see what interest exists from investors to buy into Buffer
• Once we know the size of the pool for liquidity, we will more formally reach out to existing shareholders and option holders to get full confirmation of the desire to sell stock
• Depending on the size of the pool, we may need to limit the number of shareholders and option holders who can participate, for example by issued date
• If there is more demand than the pool, it will be distributed pro rata to those who want to sell

On share price / valuation