Build in public
How to build in public, and keep going.
Building in public means sharing a business while you build it: the decisions, the numbers and what broke, in the order it happened. This guide covers what it is, why it works, why most people stop, and how to keep going on video without it becoming a second job.
What building in public is
Building in public is documenting a business while it is being built. Not a launch post, not a highlight reel: what you decided this week, what went wrong, what the numbers did, and what you are trying next. The audience is people who saw the last update and want the next one, the way people follow a series rather than a single video.
It started with founders sharing revenue and roadmaps on Twitter, and it now runs across X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Reddit. The platform matters less than the habit: a story told in order, often enough that people can follow it.
Why building in public works
- People follow a story, not a product. An open question, will this work, brings people back in a way a feature list never does.
- Trust builds before anyone buys. Watching someone work through problems for months tells a customer more than any landing page.
- It is proof for investors and hires. Eighty episodes of how you think under pressure is a better reference than a pitch deck.
- The record is yours either way. Even with nobody watching, you end up with the story of the build in your own words, which cannot be made later.
Every moment is from our founder’s own first 48 episodes, in the order they were filmed.
Why most people stop building in public
Not for lack of wanting to. Working out what to say, setting up, filming, editing and posting add up to a second job. People skip a day, then a week, and the habit dies around week three. Three other things finish off the rest:
- Nothing to say. Staring at a camera with no question produces footage nobody wants to watch, including you.
- Posting into silence. Episode three gets four views, and it feels like proof it is not working. It is just episode three.
- Chasing the hook. Rewriting every update to open on its most dramatic line turns a diary into marketing, and people can tell.
More on this in build in public burnout and building in public with no audience.
How to start building in public
1. Say what you are building, once, on camera
Before the first update, record an introduction: what it is, who it is for, what problem it solves and what those people do instead today, where it honestly stands, the hardest part, and what you are setting out to do by when. New viewers start here. Our founder intro video guide has the questions.
2. Choose a rhythm you can keep on a bad week
Weekdays, or a few times a week. Count episodes rather than days, so a missed week leaves no gap and episode 47 is honest whatever happened. Take a pause when you are away instead of breaking the chain. See how often to post when building in public.
3. Answer a question instead of putting on a show
“What’s the state of the signup emails today?” gets a real answer. “How was your day?” gets a shrug. A specific question about the work you actually did is the difference between a diary and a performance.
4. Keep it in the order it happened
Don’t move the best line to the front. Chronology is what makes it a story people come back for, and it is what keeps it honest.
5. Pick a look once and keep it
The same card, colours and captions every episode, so someone who saw episode 12 recognises episode 40 straight away.
6. Post where your audience already is
One recording can become a vertical video for Instagram, TikTok and Shorts, a longer cut for YouTube and LinkedIn, and a written post for X and Reddit.
What to share, and what to keep back
Share:
- decisions, and why you made them
- what broke, and what you did about it
- what you learned from customers, in your own words
- the numbers you are comfortable with: signups, revenue, a launch that flopped
Keep back:
- other people’s private messages and emails
- customer details, and anything under an agreement
- keys and passwords on a shared screen
Still in stealth? Record now and publish later. See a stealth launch diary.
Building in public on video, in text, or as a podcast
| Text | Video | Podcast | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust | a voice | a face and a voice | a voice |
| Effort by hand | writing | filming and editing | recording and editing |
| Where it goes | X, LinkedIn, Reddit | YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn | Apple, Spotify |
| Off camera days | fine | skip, or switch | fine |
Video is the hardest to keep up by hand and the one people follow most. Text works best alongside it. More in build in public video.
Startup vlog, founder vlog, business vlog: building in public on video
A startup vlog, a founder vlog and a business vlog are the same idea under three names: building in public on video, one episode at a time. The ones people keep watching are not day-in-the-life montages. They follow one business through its decisions, in order, so each episode answers what happened after the last.
Keep each one short, answer a real question about the day, and post it where your audience already watches, usually YouTube first. Our founder’s own runs as a playlist from episode 0: startup vlog, every episode in order. More on the format in daily startup vlog.
How underway keeps you building in public
underway takes out the part that makes people stop. Whenever suits you, it asks a few questions out loud about the work you really did, on video or just your voice, one for each thing you pick, and it stops after the last. Minutes later the episode is edited, captioned and numbered, with the words for each platform written from what you said. Nothing reordered, nothing put in your mouth.
- Episodes are counted, not days, and a declared pause protects the streak.
- Everything stays private in your vault until you choose to publish.
- Every public series gets its own page and a place in the directory.
Comparing options? See build in public tools.
Start your series
Episode 0 first: what you are building and why, in your own words. Then episode 1 whenever you are ready.
Card needed to start. Nothing taken until day 15, cancel any time before.
Every guide to building in public
One subject at a time, each one answered in full.
- build in public tools, honestly compared
- build in public examples: look around a real account
- build in public video, made daily without editing
- build in public app: what it has to do that a social account can't
- build in public ideas from your own week, not a list of 27
- build in public marketing, kept beside the diary
- building in public on instagram: a reel a day, in order
- how to build in public on youtube, episode by episode
- how often to post when building in public
- build in public with no audience: why it still pays
- a stealth mode startup, private until launch
- build in public as an introvert: be asked, don't present
- build in public burnout: why it happens, how to stop it
- build in public without twitter: where to post in 2026
- building in public for small business, not just saas
- a reddit post with every episode
- coming out of stealth mode: a launch plan with a past
- build in stealth on any plan: private until you go public
- build in public without editing, in three steps
- a build in public app that's easy to read
Questions
What does building in public mean?
Sharing the making of something while it is being made: the decisions, the numbers, what broke, in the order it happened. The audience follows a story that is still open, the way they follow a show.
Does building in public still work?
It works when it is consistent and honest, and it fails when it is a launch post every few months. The people who get something from it keep showing up long enough for strangers to start following the story.
Why do most people stop building in public?
It takes too much time. Working out what to say, setting up, filming and editing add up to a second job, and most people give up around week three.
Do I need an audience to build in public?
No. The record is worth keeping even if nobody watches, and it cannot be made later. An audience, if it comes, comes from consistency.
What should I share, and what should I keep back?
Share your own decisions, mistakes and what you learned. Keep back other people's private messages, customer details and anything you have promised not to share. Numbers are your call.
How often should I post?
Pick a rhythm you can keep on a bad week, weekdays or a few times a week, and count episodes rather than days so a missed week leaves no gap.
Video, text, or audio?
Video if you can, because people follow a face. Audio when you can't face a camera. Text works alongside either, not instead.
Can I build in public if I'm still in stealth?
Yes: record now and publish later. Footage of the early days is the one thing you cannot make afterwards, so keep it private until you are ready to show it.
Building in public examples, right now
The series in the underway directory are businesses being built in public, each episode dated and written out word for word. More in build in public examples.