What are some reasons not to build in public?
Simon Peter Damian
12 replies
Are there any downsides of building in public? Let's talk about downsides only
Replies
Mehul Fanawala@mehul_fanawala
Here you go:
1. You are at the risk of sharing too much
2. It can make you anxious
3. Can bring out the worst in the audience
4. It may distract you from your business goals
And, in case you need an explanation for each point then you will love reading https://www.theclueless.company/....
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Thanks for sharing @mehul_fanawala
These are all valid reasons. As much as I like the idea of build in public, I do agree that it can be a bit of a distraction
building in public? exciting but not without its caveats. let's dive in.
reason one: idea theft. once it's out, it's fair game. protect your core secrets.
reason two: distraction. public updates can pull focus from actual product building.
reason three: pressure. public scrutiny ups the stakes, not always in a good way.
reason four: over-commitment. announcing features prematurely can backfire.
reason five: inflexibility. pivoting gets trickier when everyone is watching.
it's a double-edged sword, this public building thing. choose your path wisely.
not trying to discourage, just advocating for strategic openness. balance is key.
keep these in mind and make an informed decision. good luck brother!
@shajedulkarim_
I absolutely loves these points. They make sense, having had a similar experience in the past where I built in public and was unable to deliver, I just wished I was a little bit more conservative in my approach.
@theterminalguy now you’re better right?
It's harder to iterate in public - the signal to noise ratio is also lower. Our product Graphite spent almost 2 years in closed beta.
Also if you guys love an underdog story, please support Graphite today - we spent most of the day in #3 and are currently trying to overtake #1 :)
@carissajansen this is insightful, I agree that iterating in public is harder, and the expectations are far too high.
I'm checking out Graphite.
Idea theft and in a Red Sea competition. If you don’t have a high efficiency workflow, you will beaten by your competitors