Building in Public Strategy: Founders' Guide to Growth & Trust

Building in Public: My Founder's Guide to Growth and Trust

Why the old playbook is broken: The real benefits of building in public

For decades, startups followed a clear playbook: build in secret, launch with a big splash, and only then start talking about it. But let's be honest, that model feels pretty outdated now, doesn't it? Today, authenticity is everything, and people want to connect. Hiding your journey behind closed doors means you're missing out on some big advantages. It's not just about sharing a few tweets; it's a thoughtful way to grow, validate your ideas, and build trust. We're talking about a real building in public strategy.

So, why are more founders ditching the dark mode for full transparency? Because the benefits are just too good to ignore:

Early validation and feedback

Think about it: building a product in isolation is like trying to hit a target blindfolded. You're guessing what users want, hoping your assumptions hold up. When you build in public, you get to test those assumptions as you go. Sharing early prototypes, mock-ups, or even just ideas on Twitter or a dedicated community forum allows you to gather real, unfiltered feedback from potential users. It's not just about bug reports, it's about figuring out if you're even solving the right problem. Companies like Basecamp have always been big fans of this approach, working openly and letting their users guide how their product grows. It saves you months of wasted development cycles and ensures you're building something people actually want and will pay for.

Fast growth through audience and community building

This is where the magic really happens. When you share your journey – the wins, the struggles, the pivots – you invite people into your story. They stop being just potential customers and become part of your mission. This is exactly how founders like Pieter Levels of Nomad List and Remote OK built massive, loyal communities. He shared his revenue numbers, his thought process, even his personal struggles, turning his audience into invested stakeholders. It's not just about getting likes; it's about building a group of early users, supporters, and beta testers who will stick with you through thick and thin. They'll defend you, promote you, and give you the brutal honesty you need to improve. Building a product is hard; building it with a supportive community cheering you on makes it a whole lot easier and faster.

Attracting great talent and savvy investors

Great talent wants to be part of something exciting and meaningful. When you build in public, you're essentially showing off your culture, your vision, and your momentum every single day. Engineers and designers see the problems you're tackling, the solutions you're exploring, and the impact you're making. It's a powerful recruitment tool, attracting people who connect with your mission, not just your salary. Similarly, savvy investors don't just look at spreadsheets anymore; they look at traction, community engagement, and founder grit. A transparent building in public strategy shows all of that. It shows you're accountable, adaptable, and you can generate buzz and user love. They see the momentum, the real connection you have with your users, and that's a big green flag for venture capitalists who want to find the next big thing.

Authenticity and trust: What really matters now

Look, we're all tired of the polished, corporate façade. People want a real connection. When founders are open about their struggles, their learning curves, and their honest wins, it builds an incredible amount of trust. It shows you're human, just like your users. This authenticity leads directly to brand loyalty. In a world full of noise, being transparent cuts through it all and creates a bond that's hard for competitors to replicate. Your users feel like they're on the journey with you, and that makes them far more likely to stick around, advocate for you, and forgive the inevitable bumps along the road.

More than just tweets: What real building in public looks like

Okay, so the benefits are clear. But here's the thing: how to build in public effectively isn't just about live-tweeting every line of code. That's documentation. Real building in public strategy is about smart sharing, picking and choosing what you share to hit specific goals, whether that's validation, growing your community, or attracting investors. It's an art, not just a stream of consciousness.

Choose your channels

Where does your audience hang out? Are they on Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, Discord, or perhaps reading specific newsletters? You don't need to be everywhere, but you need to be where your future users and stakeholders are. For many founders, Twitter remains the main spot for quick updates, sharing ideas, and connecting with a wider tech audience. But don't discount a dedicated blog for deeper dives, a YouTube channel for product demos and tutorials, or a private Slack/Discord community for direct user feedback. The goal isn't maximum reach, it's maximum relevant engagement.

What to share (and what not to)

This is the tightrope walk. You want to be transparent, but you also need to be smart. Here's how I think about it:

• The Wins: Product launches, new features, user achievements (like "We hit 1000 users!"), revenue goals ("Just crossed $10k ARR!"), good pivots, happy user stories. Celebrate these. They build momentum and show progress.
• The Struggles: Technical challenges, hiring difficulties, moments of doubt, tough choices, sudden problems. Sharing these builds empathy and shows vulnerability, which makes your journey relatable. Just be careful not to wallow; share the problem, and then your approach to solving it.
• The Learning: What did you learn from that failed feature? What feedback did a user give you? How did you improve your process? This shows you're a thoughtful leader.
• Metrics (Selectively): Revenue, user growth, conversion rates, NPS scores. Sharing these can be really effective, but you don't need to share everything from day one. Start with general trends, then get more specific as you gain confidence. Buffer famously shared salaries and revenue in their early days, which was a big difference-maker.
• Product Roadmap & Vision: Give people a glimpse of what's coming. This creates excitement and lets users contribute ideas before you build them.

Don't share: Sensitive intellectual property (unless you're open source and have a plan for it), personal information about employees, unfinalized legal documents, or anything that could really harm your business or team's privacy. Use common sense. Your founder transparency strategy doesn't mean airing all your dirty laundry; it means sharing smartly to build value.

Consistency matters

Starting strong and then fading out is worse than not starting at all. Inconsistent updates erode trust and make your audience feel like you've abandoned them. Set a realistic cadence – once a week, twice a month, whatever works for you – and stick to it. It could be a weekly progress update, a monthly revenue report, or a regular thread about a specific feature build. Your audience will come to expect it, and that regularity builds anticipation and engagement.

Engage, don't just broadcast

Building in public isn't a one-way street. It's a conversation. Reply to comments, ask questions, run polls, host AMAs. Actively seek out feedback and show that you're listening. When someone takes the time to give you input, acknowledge it. This shows that their voice matters and they are really part of your journey.

The tricky parts: Common building in public mistakes to avoid

While the benefits are big, a badly done building in public strategy can do more harm than good. It's not a magic fix; it's a tool that needs a delicate touch. Let's talk about the build in public mistakes you really need to avoid.

Oversharing: The danger of too much information

There's a fine line between transparency and TMI. Revealing every single thought, every internal conflict, or sharing unvetted, half-baked ideas can backfire. You might give away competitive advantages, create unnecessary FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) amongst your early users, or simply burn yourself out trying to document everything. Remember, smart sharing is about picking how you tell your story, not just dumping raw data. Don't share sensitive legal issues, personal team conflicts, or anything that hasn't been carefully considered for its public impact. Your public persona needs to be authentic, but also professional and focused.

Inconsistency: How you lose trust

We touched on this, but it's worth reiterating. Imagine you start strong, sharing daily updates, engaging with everyone. Then, for a few weeks, silence. Your audience wonders what happened. Did you give up? Did the product fail? This inconsistency damages the trust you've painstakingly built. It's better to commit to a smaller, more manageable cadence that you can sustain than to start with a sprint and end with a whimper. Your audience values reliability, and that's a key part of any good startup audience building effort.

Thin skin: Are you ready for the criticism?

When you put yourself and your product out there, you will get criticism. Some of it will be constructive, some of it will be harsh, and some of it will be outright mean-spirited. If you're not prepared for that, building in public can be a brutal experience. Founders need a thick skin and the ability to differentiate between valuable feedback and noise. Don't let a few negative comments derail your entire strategy or crush your spirit. Learn from the valid points, dismiss the rest, and remember why you started. Paul Graham often talks about founders needing resilience; this is where it's truly tested.

Chasing likes, not results

It's easy to get caught up in the dopamine hit of likes, retweets, and follower counts. But are those numbers actually turning into product validation, user sign-ups, or revenue? If you're spending all your time crafting viral tweets but neglecting to iterate on your product or talk to your users directly, you're missing the point. The goal of a building in public strategy isn't to become an influencer; it's to build a successful startup. Focus on engagement that leads to real ideas you can use and actual growth, not just fleeting internet fame.

Neglecting the product: The product still comes first

This is probably the biggest mistake. The entire point of building in public is to help you build a better product and a stronger company. If you're spending so much time creating content, managing social media, and engaging with your audience that you're not actually building or improving your core offering, you've lost the plot. Your primary job as a founder is to build something valuable. Building in public should multiply your efforts, not distract you. Prioritize your product development and make your public sharing a natural step in that process, not a separate job that eats up all your time.

Real examples: Inspiring building in public stories

Looking for inspiration? Many founders have really used a building in public strategy to grow incredibly well. These aren't just stories; they're blueprints.

Pieter Levels: The OG indie hacker

We mentioned him already, but Pieter Levels is arguably the patron saint of building in public. For years, he's openly shared his revenue, user counts, product ideas, and personal life on Twitter and his blog. His projects like Nomad List and Remote OK didn't just grow; they turned into movements, largely because people were invested in his journey. He showed the unfiltered reality of building a profitable internet business from scratch, proving that you don't need VC money or a huge team to make an impact. He even created a site called Nomad List that transparently shares its metrics and finances, inspiring countless other indie hackers.

Buffer: Extreme transparency as a key principle

Buffer, the social media management tool, took transparency to an extreme, and it paid off. They publicly shared employee salaries and equity, their revenue numbers, and even internal company handbooks, making transparency a core pillar of their brand. This wasn't just a marketing gimmick; it was woven deep into their company culture. It attracted talent who valued openness, built incredible trust with their user base, and got a lot of media attention. Their founder transparency strategy became their competitive advantage, proving that you could build a multi-million dollar company by being radically open.

Supabase: Open source, open development

Supabase, an open-source alternative to Firebase, is a great example of how to grow startup in public within the developer community. They've built a massive following by developing in the open, sharing their roadmap on GitHub, engaging directly with developers on Discord, and regularly releasing detailed updates on their blog. Their commitment to open source naturally fits with public building, building a strong community of contributors and users who feel a sense of ownership in the product. They're building a movement with their community, not just a product.

Shipright: Openness from day one

Even smaller, earlier-stage startups are seeing success. Take Shipright, a product feedback management tool. Their founder, Mark, frequently shares updates on Twitter about product iterations, user interviews, and even pricing experiments. This consistent sharing helps validate ideas quickly, attract early customers, and keeps the community informed about their progress. It's a great example of how you can start building in public from day one, even before you have significant traction.

Making your own founder transparency plan

So, you're convinced. You want to try the building in public strategy. But where do you start? It's not about jumping in head-first; you need to be deliberate. Here's how to make a plan that works for you and your startup:

1. Define your 'why'

Before you share anything, ask yourself: Why am I doing this? Is it to validate a specific feature? To attract your first 100 users? To catch the eye of potential investors? To find co-founders or early team members? Your 'why' will dictate what you share, where you share it, and how often. Without a clear objective, your public efforts can feel aimless and get you very little back.

2. Set your boundaries early

This is super important. Sit down with your co-founders (if you have them) and your core team. What's absolutely off-limits? What can be shared with some caveats? What's fair game? Discuss IP, financial specifics, team dynamics, and future plans. Having these boundaries defined upfront prevents awkward situations, ensures everyone is on the same page, and protects sensitive information. Your founder transparency strategy shouldn't cause problems inside your team.

3. Choose your story

Every startup has a story. What's yours? Are you the scrappy underdog shaking up an older player? The technical genius building a new solution? The community builder solving a niche problem? Your public sharing should contribute to this narrative. Think about the arc: the problem, the struggle, the solution, the wins, the lessons. This isn't about making up a story, but about showing your authentic journey in an interesting way that connects with your target audience. You can even use PakGPT to quickly research what competitors are sharing publicly or brainstorm engaging content ideas for your own building in public strategy.

4. Make public sharing part of your work

Don't treat building in public as an extra chore. Make it part of your routine. Dedicate a specific time each week to draft updates, review metrics, and engage with your community. Could your weekly team meeting conclude with a quick bulleted list of public-facing updates? Can your product launch checklist include a "public announcement" section? Making it a natural part of things makes it sustainable.

5. Be prepared for the long run

Building in public isn't a sprint; it's a marathon. It takes time to build an audience, gain trust, and see the benefits add up. There will be weeks where engagement is low, or you face criticism. Stay consistent, stay authentic, and keep showing up. The rewards for sustained transparency are huge, but they rarely happen overnight.

What I think you should remember

• Stealth Mode is on its way out: Go for transparency for faster validation, stronger communities, and attracting great talent and investors. A smart building in public strategy gives you a big edge.
• Share Smartly, Don't Just Document Everything: Pick what you share carefully. Focus on wins, struggles, what you learn, and a few key numbers. Avoid oversharing sensitive IP or personal team details.
• Consistency & Engagement are essential: Regular updates build trust; active engagement builds community. Inconsistency is a big problem.
• Thick Skin You'll Need: Prepare for criticism and learn to tell the difference between useful feedback and just noise. Don't let it derail your efforts.
• Product First: Building in public should support your product development, not replace it. Your main job is to build a great product.

Building in public, for me, is really about human connection. It's about inviting people to be part of your story, to invest emotionally in your success, and to help you build something amazing. This isn't just a trend; I think it's the only way forward for ambitious founders. The old guard might be comfortable in the shadows, but the future belongs to those brave enough to build in the light.