>In short, this was all caused by the fact that we grew the team too big, too fast. We thought we were being mindful about balancing the pace of our hiring with

>In short, this was all caused by the fact that we grew the team too big, too fast. We thought we were being mindful about balancing the pace of our hiring with our revenue growth. We weren’t. >Reflecting on it now, I see a lot of ego and pride reflected in that team size number. > In many areas, we grew the team more than was truly necessary for the time, more than was clearly validated. I feel like we all experience this pull by vanity metrics, ego, etc. The level of honestly we've seen in this post will hopefully serve as a reality check for many of us. >Both Leo and I have taken a salary cut of 40% until at least the end of the year. Savings: $94,000. >Leo and I are committing $100k each in the form of a loan at the lowest possible interest rate, with repayment only when Buffer reaches a healthy financial position. Savings: $200,000. This is an attitude and decision I saw made by the C-level during the financial crisis at a company with hundreds of employees. The C level took home $0 in pay and the staff took at 40% until they made it back to profitability, in order to avoid laying anyone off (this is Japan where reemployment would be incredibly difficult). It shows maturity and commitment to the organization (i.e. your people) that is rarely seen these days in startup land. Much respect.