Do you follow build in public strategy for your project development?

Vlad Zivkovic
32 replies
Hey Product Hunters, do you follow build in public strategy or you prefer to complete the project before you launch it in public? What do you think are pros and cons of building in public?

Replies

Shantanu Bhosale
Building in public is a good strategy as it will help you get constant feedback. But if your research is strong and you already have beta testers then you can complete your project and then launch it in public.
Vlad Zivkovic
@shantanu96 Yeah, BIP can be use as validation if you didn't do any research.
Frederik Hvilshøj
At Encord, we've had so many good learnings with building in public. The feedback is invaluable to us! I'm all in for building in public.
Vlad Zivkovic
@fhvilshoj It does provide a lot of benefit.
Tobe T
Publicly showcasing your progress will effectively highlight the substantial strides.
Thanks for the question. Even I've been thinking about it and had some conversation with the founders. As the talks are still in progress, would love to know both pros and cons of it. Most of the comments here seems to be inclined to positive sides. Do we have any cons as well?
Mila Dymnikova
@nithincp I kinda feel like no one talks about how challenging it is to (at least begin to) publicly show what you’re building. Like I totally understand the benefits, but it’s taken me a while to find my voice as I’m going through the journey of building and creating.
Vlad Zivkovic
@nithincp It's very difficult to start and get some audience, but once you get the momentum it can help a lot.
Vlad Zivkovic
@nithincp @mila_dymnikova Yeah I agree, it's not easy as you are focusing on multiple things especially if you are solopreneur.
@mila_dymnikova Makes sense Mila, I think it takes some time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts
Nuno Reis
I think building in public is great for getting out there, getting feedback and potentially engaging with future users. If you are in the startup world, you know things go bad and out of whats planned. If you make it public you just show how much you've been learning. Unless you're building something that needs stealth I don't think there is a downside to it.
Vlad Zivkovic
@nuno_ms_reis Yeah, there are down sides of bip, but it's good to have community around your product from the early days.
We've tried, but I think this strategy is more affordable for indiehackers and solopreneurs!
Vlad Zivkovic
@realvladgolub I love Sabba from Veed.io, their story is incredible. They struggled almost 5 years, being rejected many times even from Y combinator and they reached $5M ARR bootstrapped. Now they are backed by Sequoia. Here is the blog, you can read the whole journey from struggling 3 years with 0 revenue to $5M ARR. https://www.veed.io/blog/
Vlad Zivkovic
@realvladgolub Yeah it depends what are you building. In my previous startup I raised $1M in pre-seed and we never even think to go public before the product is done, it would be ridiculous risk of investment because of the potential competitors. There is a great blog from veed.io CEO, they raised $30M in seed funding after building in public but they good like 2-3 competitors doing exactly the same thing, same features and raising more money than them for the same tech.
@vladimir_zivkovic Wow, $30M in seed funding is no joke! Glad to hear they built in public despite the competition. I guess it's true what they say, keep your friends close and your competitors even closer ;)
Johnny Price
Public building has its merits. Real-time feedback, community, and excitement. But there's also the downside: showing your cards to competitors too early, taking criticism in public, or setting expectations you can't meet.
Hassan Munj
I am currently using this strategy while building my new product. I am struggling in building a community, also I am not good at expressing my journey in words. I feel I miss a lot of key points when I am writing out my day's highlights.
Vlad Zivkovic
@hassan_munj It's not easy to focus on both sides while building your product.
Kenneth Clark
I personally prefer the build in public strategy because it allows for valuable feedback and community engagement throughout the development process, although the downside is the potential for increased pressure and expectations before the project is fully ready.
Vlad Zivkovic
@kennethc_44 And feedback and validation are the most important factors in building a startup.
Louise Rivera
Making it public will just demonstrate how much progress you have made.
Hazel Lim
Narrated Tours (On Demand Audio Guides)
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I am most known for my build in public tweets. It's not the be all and end all. But it has brought me opportunities from unexpected places. And it helps when you start a conversation with someone you met for the first time and they already "know" you.
Vlad Zivkovic
@byhazellim I am following you on Twitter! You do a great work!
Hazel Lim
Narrated Tours (On Demand Audio Guides)
Narrated Tours (On Demand Audio Guides)