Building projects in public have a profound advantage!
Why?
As a typical developer, I locked myself in my room and spent several days in dark working on a new landing page https://www.indiehackers.com/post/web3-blockchain-ebook-mvp-landing-page-23bf3b4c48:
editing the copy
- trying to come up with the right words
- making it personal, relatable but professional at the same time
- A week later, I shared it on a forum and asked a few friends from my target audience for feedback. Result? I had to change 50% of my landing page.
It doesn't matter if you know everything about your product if your target audience can't read your thoughts.
The best way to build a product is to involve your potential customers as early as possible.
Did you have a similar experience?
Absolutely. One of the biggest mistakes technical founders make is treating product development as a private activity instead of a conversation.
I've had similar experiences where I thought a feature, landing page, or positioning was crystal clear, only to discover users interpreted it completely differently. A week of public feedback often saves months of building the wrong thing.
Building in public isn't just about marketing. It's about shortening the feedback loop. The earlier users challenge your assumptions, the cheaper those corrections are.
That's also why foundersbar.com puts so much emphasis on validation before development. The goal isn't to build faster, it's to learn faster. Real customer feedback is usually more valuable than another week spent polishing in isolation.
The best products aren't built behind closed doors. They're shaped by the people they're meant to serve.
When you are thinking your product is enough perfect to publish it - you are already late...
I absolutely agree - that's how I built Makerlog (and the main premise of the site).
I involved early customers (instead of going in some sort of stealth mode). Their feedback was incredibly valuable and greatly helped build the community.