Building in Public: Does It Actually Work?

The build-in-public movement has exploded over the past few years. Founders sharing revenue numbers on Twitter. Posting monthly updates with real metrics. Livestreaming product development. Being transparent about failures and setbacks.

The question is whether this actually helps your business, or whether it is just a time-consuming performance that creates the illusion of progress while taking time away from actual work.

After watching dozens of founders in our portfolio experiment with building in public, here is what we have observed.

When It Works

For developer tools and B2B SaaS targeting technical buyers. If your customer is on Twitter or Hacker News, building in public puts your product directly in front of them. Multiple companies in our portfolio acquired their first 100 customers entirely through public content about their building process.

For establishing credibility as a first-time founder. If you have no track record, a public build log demonstrates competence and consistency. Investors and customers can watch you execute over months. That track record, built in real time, can substitute for the resume you do not have.

For recruiting. Engineers want to work at companies they believe in, run by founders they respect. Sharing your journey authentically is one of the most effective recruiting tools available to early-stage startups.

When It Does Not Work

For enterprise sales. If you are selling to large companies, your buyer does not care about your Twitter thread. They care about security certifications, SLAs, and reference customers. Building in public can actually hurt you here by making you look small and unprofessional.

When it becomes the work. The most common failure mode is founders who spend more time writing updates than building product. If your building-in-public practice takes more than 2-3 hours per week, it has become a distraction, not a strategy.

When you share too much. Sharing revenue and growth metrics can backfire. Competitors get free market intelligence. Customers may anchor on your small numbers. There is a line between transparency and oversharing, and many founders cross it.

The Practical Approach

Share what helps your business. Do not share for the sake of sharing. If a public update leads to customers, investors, or hires, it is worth the time. If it leads to likes and followers but no business outcomes, it is content creation, not company building.

The best founders we know who build in public treat it as a distribution channel, not a personality trait. They are strategic about what they share, consistent in their cadence, and honest about the results.