BrainPint #17 - Building In Public

Hi all,

Lots of people are curious about building in public. It was the most clicked on link of last week’s BrainPint 😉

A while back, I dreaded the thought of publishing work that wasn’t near perfect. I thought it would look silly if I released something unpolished.

But I was wrong. These days, it’s valuable to start working on something, no matter how small it is, and build in public.

Building in public is a terrific way to tighten feedback loops and speed up your learning. You’ll make small mistakes, no doubt, but there many smart and curious people who are willing to help.

There’s an added advantage of growing your audience. A project can only get so much traction without one - I’ve been there before and know that it can feel like you’re talking into blank space. Change that by sharing what you’re doing even before you launch. You automatically get supporters on your journey who will actively root for you & promote you. You’ll create a personal moat.

Being transparent while you’re learning also demonstrates vulnerability & authenticity, which draws others in like moths to a flame. You’ll become a lighthouse for like-minded people.

If you’re brilliant at what you do, you’ll eventually attract experts in your field. Successful people love helping ambitious newer players who are building interesting things. You never know if you’re going to find your future co-founder, investor or manager this way!

LaunchMBA, Tiny Design Lessons, Gabriel Chuan, Ness Labs, Fast, Dorik, and of course, Build In Public!

Danny Postma’s Headlime has been a phenomenal success to the point where it has spawned 1:1 copycats. It’s part flattery, part frustration - though I imagine more of the latter. I hope he manages to get those copies taken down.

Building something in public? Reply to me and let me know!

Would love to check it out.

Cheers,

Janel

Lenny Rachitsky compiled a list of useful PM templates. Useful, editable resources.

Check out Indie Letters: A byte sized newsletter jam-packed with marketing knowledge for indie makers & marketers.

“The home run theory of careers:

What matters is eventually hitting a home run, and the way to do that is training hard and a lot of at-bats. You only have to be right once, and it’s ok to be wrong a lot of times.

Be bold. Move fast. Work hard. Ignore haters. Keep swinging.”

- Sam Altman