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@shantanu96
Bitsyurl
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.
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@shantanu96 Yeah, BIP can be use as validation if you didn't do any research.
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.
@fhvilshoj It does provide a lot of benefit.
SmartSync
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?
@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
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.
@nuno_ms_reis Yeah, there are down sides of bip, but it's good to have community around your product from the early days.
Clustr
We've tried, but I think this strategy is more affordable for indiehackers and solopreneurs!
@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/
@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.
Clustr
@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 ;)
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.
@john_price_kp hey Johnny how are you doing?
@john_price_kp 100% agreed!
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.
@hassan_munj It's not easy to focus on both sides while building your product.
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.
@kennethc_44 And feedback and validation are the most important factors in building a startup.
Making it public will just demonstrate how much progress you have made.
@louiserivera22 Hello Louise how are you doing?
@louiserivera22 Yes, indeed!
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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.
@byhazellim I am following you on Twitter! You do a great work!
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@vladimir_zivkovic Woohoo, thanks!