Build in Public: The Complete Guide for 2026

Building in public has become one of the most powerful growth strategies for indie hackers and solo founders. But what does it really mean, and how do you do it effectively?

What is Building in Public?

Building in public means sharing your startup journey openly—the wins, the losses, the revenue, the struggles. Instead of working in stealth mode, you let your audience follow along as you build.

This includes sharing:

Revenue numbers and growth
User metrics
Product updates
Challenges and failures
Decisions and pivots
Behind-the-scenes content

Why Build in Public?

1. Free Marketing

Every update you share is content. Every milestone is a post. You're building an audience while building a product.

2. Accountability

When you share your goals publicly, you're more likely to follow through. Your audience holds you accountable.

3. Community Support

The indie hacker community rallies around founders who share openly. You'll get advice, encouragement, and sometimes even customers.

4. Trust & Credibility

Transparency builds trust. When potential customers can see your journey, they're more likely to believe in your product.

5. Content Flywheel

Your journey becomes content. Your content attracts audience. Your audience becomes customers. Repeat.

How to Start Building in Public

Step 1: Choose Your Platform

Twitter/X: Best for real-time updates, community engagement
LinkedIn: Better for B2B, professional audience
Indie Hackers: Dedicated community, long-form posts
Your Blog: Own your content, SEO benefits

Step 2: Decide What to Share

Start with what you're comfortable with:

Safe: Feature updates, milestones, learnings
Medium: Revenue ranges, user counts, challenges
Bold: Exact revenue, failures, tough decisions

Step 3: Create a Sharing Routine

Daily: Quick updates, thoughts, small wins
Weekly: Progress reports, metrics, learnings
Monthly: Detailed recaps, strategy, goals

Step 4: Make It Visual

Don't just tweet numbers. Create visuals:

Screenshots of dashboards
Graphs showing growth
Achievement badges for milestones
Before/after comparisons

Step 5: Engage Back

Building in public isn't broadcasting—it's a conversation. Reply to comments, ask for feedback, celebrate others' wins.

What to Share (Content Ideas)

Revenue & Metrics

Monthly revenue updates
Milestone celebrations ($1K, $5K, $10K MRR)
Customer count milestones
Churn rates and retention

Product Development

Features shipped
Bug fixes
Technical decisions
Stack choices

Business Operations

Pricing changes
Marketing experiments
Hiring decisions
Tool recommendations

Failures & Learnings

What didn't work
Pivots and why
Customer feedback (good and bad)
Mistakes made

Personal Journey

Work-life balance struggles
Motivation and burnout
Goals and progress
Daily routines

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Only Sharing Wins

Nobody believes a founder who only posts wins. Share the struggles too—it makes you relatable.

2. Being Too Vague

"Had a great week!" tells nobody anything. Share specifics: "Added 5 new customers this week, bringing MRR to $3,200."

3. Inconsistency

Building in public works through compounding. Posting once and disappearing doesn't build audience.

4. Comparing to Others

Everyone's journey is different. Focus on your own progress, not others' highlight reels.

5. Over-sharing Personal Info

Transparency doesn't mean no boundaries. Keep some things private.

Tools for Building in Public

Revenue Tracking

Stripe Dashboard
Baremetrics
ProfitWell

Badge Generation

HackerBadges - Create verified achievement badges
Share milestones with beautiful visuals

Content Scheduling

Buffer
Typefully
Hypefury

Analytics

Twitter Analytics
Google Analytics
Fathom Analytics

Success Stories

Pieter Levels (@levelsio)

Built multiple profitable products sharing everything publicly. Known for Nomad List and Remote OK.

Jon Yongfook (@yaboraf)

Shares detailed revenue breakdowns and experiments with Bannerbear.

Tony Dinh (@tdinh_me)

Grew multiple products to profitability while documenting the entire journey.

Your Turn: Start Today

You don't need a big following to start. You don't need impressive numbers. You just need to start sharing.

Quick Start Checklist

[ ] Post one update about what you're working on
[ ] Share a specific number (users, revenue, anything)
[ ] Create a milestone badge for your latest win
[ ] Engage with 5 other builders today

Track Your Milestones

As you build in public, celebrate your achievements with verified badges. Connect your payment platform to HackerBadges and automatically generate badges when you hit milestones.

Get Started →

Made with HackerBadges - Achievement badges for indie hackers