What 6 Months of Building in Public Taught Me

Six months ago I decided to document every step of building a side project publicly — every decision, every mistake, every pivot. Here's what actually happened.

The First Surprise: Accountability Works

I thought building in public would be about getting feedback. It was. But the bigger impact was accountability. When you know you're going to post an update, you actually do the work.

The Feedback Was Mostly Wrong (And Still Useful)

Most feature requests were things I shouldn't build. People asked for complexity when they needed simplicity. But the act of explaining why I wasn't building something forced me to articulate the product vision clearly.

What Actually Helped

The 3am messages from strangers who were solving the same problem. Those conversations shaped the product more than any amount of solo thinking.

The Hard Part

Sharing failures publicly is uncomfortable. The week I almost gave up, I almost didn't post. But that post got more genuine responses than any success update.

The Conclusion

Building in public isn't a marketing strategy. It's a forcing function for clarity. You can't be vague about your goals when you've written them down for the internet.

Would I do it again? Already planning the next one.