Does “building in public” work?

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

What “Building in Public” Means Now

  • Originally associated with sharing the process (technical decisions, dead ends, UX iterations, roadmaps).
  • Many commenters feel it has drifted into primarily sharing metrics (MRR/ARR screenshots, growth charts) and “success posts.”
  • Some distinguish between “building in public” and simply “talking about money in public.”

Perceived Benefits

  • Early-stage marketing: can attract first users, backlinks, and modest traction, especially if the audience is other tech people.
  • Community and morale: reduces loneliness for solo founders; creates a sense of journey and accountability.
  • Learning and feedback: “working with the garage door open” can surface useful feedback, advice from more experienced founders, and early adopters.
  • Reputation: ongoing public work logs can act as a portfolio for future opportunities.

Critiques and Downsides

  • Time sink: serious audience-building is described as almost a full-time job; diverts energy from product and direct customer conversations.
  • Saturation and diminishing returns: much more crowded and formulaic than several years ago; effectiveness seen as tapering off.
  • Audience capture: builders risk ending up serving other indie hackers rather than a real target market; products often become SaaS tools for other founders.
  • Noise and grift: lots of shallow “hustle” content, growth-hacking, and eventual info-products; hard to find substantive discussions.
  • Pressure and entitlement: open development can attract demanding “feature mobs,” bullying, and burnout.

Money Focus vs. Hacker Ethos

  • Several commenters lament that hacker culture has become overly money-centric, replacing curiosity and fun with monetization pressure.
  • Others argue money is a useful signal of whether a problem matters and enables broader impact, but warn that revenue-chasing alone is hollow.
  • Debate over whether “real hackers” should care primarily about money, with no consensus.

Nuanced / Alternative Approaches

  • Share process, design details, and lessons but avoid revenue numbers to attract more thoughtful conversations.
  • Treat building in public as:
    • a learning-in-public and community tool, not just a growth hack, or
    • a limited early-stage channel, then transition to more traditional marketing (SEO, ads, direct sales).
  • Some simply opt out, preferring to build quietly and let the product speak through solving real problems.