What is Build in Public?
Last updated: March 2026
Definition
Build in Public — Building in public is a founder-led content strategy where entrepreneurs openly share their product development journey — including progress, challenges, metrics, and decisions — with their audience in real time. The practice builds trust, attracts early users, and creates organic distribution through transparency.
Why building in public works
Building in public works because it leverages three psychological principles: transparency builds trust, consistency builds familiarity, and vulnerability builds connection.
According to data from the Indie Hackers community (2025), founders who share their journey publicly report:
- 3-5x faster audience growth compared to founders who don't share
- 40% higher conversion rates from social media to product signups
- 2x more inbound partnership inquiries from other founders and companies
The #buildinpublic hashtag on X (Twitter) has grown 50%+ year-over-year since 2022, with over 100,000 founders actively participating globally.
What to share when building in public
Not everything needs to be public. Here's a framework for what to share:
Always share:
- What you shipped this week
- Decisions and the reasoning behind them
- Lessons learned from failures
- Milestone celebrations (first user, first dollar, feature launches)
Share selectively:
- Revenue metrics (when comfortable)
- Technical architecture decisions
- User feedback and how you responded
- Competitive insights (without being negative)
Keep private:
- Unreleased sensitive business deals
- Specific user data
- Information that could harm your competitive position
How to start building in public
- Choose your platform. X (Twitter) is the most popular for #buildinpublic. LinkedIn reaches a more professional/investor audience. Many founders do both.
- Set a cadence. Start with 3 posts per week. Consistency matters more than volume.
- Share what you shipped. The easiest content is what you already did. Built a feature? Talk about it. Fixed a bug? Explain why it happened.
- Be specific. "Shipped a new feature" is boring. "Spent 6 hours building a search filter that reduced support tickets by 30%" is interesting.
- Use tools. Ravah turns your weekly shipping activity into structured social content automatically, so you can build in public without the content creation overhead.
Build in public vs. traditional marketing
| Aspect | Build in Public | Traditional Marketing |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free (time investment) | Paid ads, agencies, hires |
| Trust | High (transparency) | Lower (perceived bias) |
| Speed | Immediate | Weeks to months for campaigns |
| Scalability | Limited by founder time | Scalable with budget |
| Authenticity | Very high | Varies |
| Best for | Early-stage, founder-led | Growth-stage, team-led |
Famous examples
- Pieter Levels (Nomad List, Photo AI) — shares revenue, technical decisions, and experiments publicly. Built a $2M+ ARR portfolio while documenting everything.
- Marc Lou — launches products monthly and shares the entire process from idea to revenue.
- Arvid Kahl — wrote "The Embedded Entrepreneur" while building in public, turning the process into content and a community.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Is building in public safe? Won't competitors copy me? +
This is the most common concern. In practice, competitors rarely copy based on social posts — they're already watching your product directly. The audience trust and distribution you gain from building in public far outweighs the theoretical competitive risk. As Arvid Kahl notes: 'Your audience is your moat, not your features.'
How often should I post when building in public? +
Start with 3 posts per week. Consistency is more important than frequency. A founder who posts 3x/week for 6 months will outperform one who posts daily for 2 weeks and then stops. Tools like Ravah help maintain consistency by generating a week of content from a single 5-minute update.
What platforms are best for building in public? +
X (Twitter) is the primary platform for #buildinpublic with the largest community. LinkedIn is growing fast for founder content, especially for B2B products. Indie Hackers is good for long-form updates. Many founders cross-post to 2-3 platforms for maximum reach.
Should I share revenue numbers? +
Revenue sharing is optional but powerful. Founders who share MRR updates typically see higher engagement and trust. If you're uncomfortable sharing exact numbers, share growth percentages or milestone ranges (e.g., 'crossed $1K MRR') instead.
put this into practice
Ravah turns product knowledge into social content. Set up once, generate weekly. Built for founders.