Building in Public: When to Share, When to Stay Quiet
Building in public is the most overrated and underrated growth strategy of the last decade. Overrated because most builders share the wrong things and wonder why no one cares. Underrated because the few who do it well build audiences that turn into customers, hires, and partners overnight.
What works in public
Process. Lessons. Mistakes. Specific numbers. Stories with stakes. Anything that makes someone slightly smarter or slightly less alone.
What doesn't work in public
Vanity metrics with no story. 'Just hit $5K MRR!' is a tweet. 'Hit $5K MRR — here's the one decision that changed the curve' is content.
Pre-launch hype. Building anticipation for a product that doesn't exist yet wastes the goodwill you should be saving for the actual launch.
Generic advice. The internet is drowning in 'how to be a founder.' Your specific experience is the only thing you have a monopoly on.
When to stay quiet
When you're building a competitive moat. If your innovation is genuinely defensible, sharing the playbook before you've built the lead is suicidal.
When you're in crisis. Sharing the gory details of a meltdown attracts sympathy but rarely helps the business recover. Process the pain privately; share the lesson once you've learned it.