Why #BuildInPublic Doesn't Work

Somber news, friend...

#BuildInPublic (where you build your startup and post about it all over the internet) is dead.

Well, actually, it never really worked all that well.

Let me explain:

The purpose of building in public is to showcase your progress on a new startup or product - this could work only if certain criteria are met.

1. The target customer is interested in seeing the process of building.

2. The target customer has $ to buy your product.

In the end, there are only two important points to hit, but many people are missing the mark.

Why?

Simple:

Most customers don't care how it's built.

The only people that really care are going to be other people building their own products.

But here's the real kicker:

People building their own products usually don't have the $ to spend

A common scenario to bring this home:

• An indie hacker builds a small tool to help fellow indie hackers
• They spend a few months building it in public - they even get a decent following of other devs!
• Launch day comes and they get next to $0 in sales
• They spend the next 2+ years clawing their way to 'ramen profitability'.

Why was this so hard? Why did it take several years?

A poorly positioned offer in a not-so-rich niche.

Selling products to other bootstrapped startups is a recipe for a long, painful journey of fighting for every single customer.

This is because - like many bootstrapped startups - they have no excess capital.

Can it work anyway? Sure - you can cram a square block into a round hole. But why play on hard mode?

Key takeaway: make sure the niche you're building for has disposable income to spend.

best,

- Jordan