Building in Public: What to Share and What to Keep Back

Some founders disappear for a year and emerge with a finished product. Others talk about what they are doing as they do it: the half-built features, the pricing doubts, the week the server fell over. The second approach is often called building in public. It can bring feedback, goodwill and customers before you launch. It can also drain your time and expose things you wish you had kept private.

This guide is a friendly look at how to do it well, written for people who would like to try without turning their company into a reality show.

Why people do it

The reasons are practical rather than glamorous.

Feedback arrives early. If you show a rough screen on Tuesday, someone may tell you on Wednesday that the button is confusing. That is far cheaper than discovering it after launch.

An audience forms. People who follow the journey feel a stake in the outcome. When you launch, they are the first to try, share and review.

Accountability. Saying "I will ship this by Friday" in front of others is a surprisingly effective motivator.

Connections. Other founders notice you, offer advice and sometimes become collaborators or customers.

A record. Writing things down as you go creates a history you can reread when you doubt how far you have come.

Why some people avoid it

It is not for everyone, and it is fine to decide against it. Common reasons include:

• It takes time away from the work itself.
• Public criticism can sting.
• Competitors can see what you are doing.
• It can turn into performance, where posting matters more than building.
• Some businesses, such as those with sensitive clients, have limits on what they may say.

Treat building in public as a choice with costs and benefits, not as an obligation.

Decide your purpose first

Before you share anything, ask what you want from it. The answer shapes everything.

• Learning. You want feedback on decisions, so share questions and drafts.
• Audience. You want to grow a following, so share stories and lessons.
• Customers. You want early users, so share what the product does and how to try it.
• Hiring or partnerships. You want to attract people, so share your values and how you work.

You can pursue more than one, but one should lead. A founder who shares a weekly lesson to attract an audience posts differently from one who shares screenshots to test an idea.

What to share

Progress, in small pieces

A short note on what you finished this week is easy to write and easy to read. "Added CSV import. Took two days longer than planned because of date formats." People like specifics.

Decisions and the reasons for them

Why you chose one pricing model over another, why you dropped a feature, why you picked a particular tool. Reasoning is more interesting than results, and others learn from it.

Mistakes and what you learned

Candour builds trust. A post that describes an error and how you recovered is often more engaging than a victory. Keep it factual and avoid blaming others.

Numbers, when they help

Usage, sign-ups, response times, the cost of a campaign. If you share financial figures, do it deliberately, and consider how it will look to customers, partners and the tax authorities. Many founders prefer to share ratios and trends, not absolute figures.

Behind-the-scenes moments

A photograph of your desk, a screenshot of a messy to-do list, a note about the music you work to. These small human touches are what make people care about the person behind the product.

Questions

Asking for input is one of the most valuable things you can do. "Which of these two headlines is clearer?" "What would you want to see on a pricing page?" People like being asked, and the answers are often better than you expect.

What to keep back

Other people's information

Never share customers' names, messages or data without permission. The Information Commissioner's Office provides advice for small organisations on data protection, and the basic principle is respect: if information identifies a person, think carefully before it goes public.

Anything under confidentiality

Contracts, agreements with partners or clients, and information you have been told in confidence. If in doubt, ask or leave it out.

Security details

Passwords, keys, internal addresses and descriptions of weaknesses that have not been fixed. A screenshot that includes a visible key is a common mistake. Check before you post.

Unfinished legal or financial matters

Disputes, negotiations and pending decisions that could change. Wait until they are resolved.

Private life

You decide how much of your personal life to show. It is fine to share little. Do not feel that openness about your work obliges you to share your family or health.

Things that could be used against you

If a competitor could copy something in a week and win, consider waiting. But remember that most ideas are not secret, and execution is hard to copy.

Find a rhythm you can keep

The hardest part of building in public is not the first post, but the fiftieth. A rhythm that suits your life will outlast enthusiasm.

• Pick a frequency. Weekly is a good starting point.
• Pick a format. A short written update, a screenshot with two sentences, or a voice note.
• Pick a place. One main place where your updates live, perhaps your founder profile or your own site, with copies elsewhere if you want.
• Pick a time. Friday afternoon is popular because you can look back over the week.
• Prepare a template. "This week I finished... I struggled with... Next I will... I would love feedback on..."

If you miss a week, do not apologise at length. Just post the next one.

Write so people want to reply

A good update invites a response.

• Open with the point, not the preamble.
• Be specific.
• Include one question.
• Thank people who replied before.
• Keep it short enough to read on a phone.

Google's guidance on helpful content stresses original information and a clear sense of who is behind the content. Updates that report what you really did, with detail that only you could know, fit that principle well, and they tend to be more engaging than generic advice.

Treat the audience as a community

Online communities have a familiar pattern: Wikipedia's description notes that most members read without posting, while a small minority contribute most of the content. That means silence is not disapproval. Many people follow quietly and act later, perhaps by buying, recommending or reaching out months afterwards.

It also notes that newcomers face barriers, including difficulty finding entry tasks and a lack of knowledge about norms. You can help by being welcoming: reply to first-time commenters, thank people for questions and explain things without jargon.

Handle criticism calmly

Public work attracts opinions. Some will be helpful, some unkind and a few simply wrong. Read comments once, wait before replying, and answer the substance. If someone is abusive, you do not have to engage. Block or report where the platform allows. A separate article covers handling criticism in public threads.

Know when to pause

If posting is making you anxious, or taking time from customers, take a break. Say so briefly, and return when you can. There is no prize for a perfect streak.

A simple starter plan

1. Decide your purpose in one sentence.
2. Write your list of things you will never share.
3. Choose a rhythm, a format and a place.
4. Post your first update this week.
5. Review after a month: What did you learn? What did it cost? Is it worth continuing?

Founder profiles on this site are a natural home for your updates, and the about-the-founders page shows an example of how founders introduce themselves and their work.

A worked example: one month of updates

To make this concrete, imagine a solo founder building a booking tool for dog groomers. She decides her purpose is feedback and early customers, so she commits to one update on Friday afternoons and writes down her never-share list: client names, anything a groomer told her in confidence and the details of her hosting setup.

In week one she shares a rough screenshot of the diary view and asks which of two layouts is clearer. Nine people reply, six prefer the same one. In week two she writes about a decision to drop text-message reminders for now because of the cost, explaining the sums without sharing exact figures. In week three she admits she spent four days on a feature nobody had asked for and describes how she will check demand next time. In week four she announces that three groomers have agreed to try the beta and thanks the people who introduced her.

By the end of the month she has a small circle of followers who know what she is building, three beta users, a handful of useful design opinions and a record of her own decisions. She also has a clear sense of how much time it took: about forty minutes a week. That is the sort of modest, sustainable practice that makes building in public worth doing.

A gentle test before you post

Before each update, ask three questions. Would I be comfortable if a customer read this? Does it reveal anything about another person that they have not agreed to share? Is there anything in the images, such as a browser tab, a notification or a visible key, that I did not intend to show? If the answers are yes, no and no, post it. The habit takes seconds and has saved many founders from awkward corrections.

Frequently asked questions

Will competitors copy me? They might copy small things, but they cannot copy your pace, your relationships or your judgement.

What if nobody reads my posts at first? That is normal. Keep posting useful things, and engage with others' work too.

Should I share my failures? Share what you learned, and be careful to protect people involved.