What Building in Public Actually Means
Building in public means sharing your startup journey openly. Revenue numbers, failures, product decisions, user feedback. All of it.
Some founders share weekly. Some share daily. Some just post milestones. There’s no one right way to do it.
The Real Benefits
Accountability. When you commit to numbers publicly, you push harder to hit them.
Audience building. Every update is a piece of content. Over time, people follow your journey and become your first customers.
Network and feedback. Other founders, investors, and potential partners reach out when they see you working in public.
Some founders attribute their first 100 to 500 customers directly to their build-in-public content. That’s free marketing.
The Downsides Nobody Talks About
It takes time. Creating good update content is a real task. If you’re a solo founder already stretched thin, this adds to your plate.
Competitors can see what you’re doing. Most of the time this doesn’t matter. But if you’re building something sensitive or proprietary, think twice.
Pressure. Publicly sharing metrics creates pressure. Some founders find this motivating. Others find it paralyzing.
What Kind of Content Works Best
Real numbers. Revenue, users, churn, MRR. People love seeing the actual data.
Failures and pivots. These get more engagement than wins. People connect with honesty.
Behind the scenes. Product decisions, design debates, pricing experiments. Show your thinking.
Milestones. First $1, first $1K, first 100 users. These create shareable moments.
Where to Share Your Build in Public Content
Twitter and LinkedIn are the two main platforms. Twitter has a strong indie founder community. LinkedIn works better if your target audience is in business or B2B.
Reddit communities like r/SaaS and r/IndieHackers also have engaged audiences who appreciate transparent sharing.
Beehiiv is great for turning your build-in-public journey into a newsletter. It helps you own your audience instead of relying on social platforms that can change their algorithms anytime.
Starting from $27.2/month
20% off for 3 months + 30-day free trial
Key Features
Customizable email newsletter templates
Advanced analytics and reporting tools
Subscriber segmentation and automation
Why We Recommend It
- Ideal for businesses and creators looking to manage and grow their email newsletters.
- Provides detailed insights through robust analytics to track performance.
- Enables targeted messaging with segmentation and automation features.
Pros & Cons
- Easy-to-use and customizable
- Excellent analytics and reporting features
- Scalable for growing email lists
- Limited features in the free plan
- Can be complex for beginners
Should You Build in Public?
If you like writing or talking about your work, yes. It’s one of the highest-ROI things you can do as a founder.
If you’re more private or find it draining, skip it. There are other ways to grow. Don’t force a strategy that doesn’t fit your personality.
The founders who succeed with build in public are consistent and honest. They share when things are hard, not just when things are good.
