Build in Partnership

Building in partnership goes beyond sharing your journey — it means actively asking customers what they need, and feeding their answers back to the people building your product. Transparency is table stakes; the real value is in closing the loop.

What is Building in Partnership?

Building in partnership means treating your customers as collaborators in your product development process. You share openly with them, and you ask them to share back. That two-way flow includes:

  • What you're building and why — roadmap updates, shipped features, progress milestones
  • Surveys and questions — asking customers what they actually need before you build it
  • Feedback loops — surfacing what customers told you to the developers building for them
  • Continuous improvement — running post-launch surveys to keep refining after you ship

Why Build in Partnership?

Validate Before You Build

Surveys pushed to social media reach customers where they already are. You get structured, actionable feedback before committing to a design — not after.

Give Developers Real Context

When developers can see the customer feedback behind every requirement, they make better decisions. "Users said they can't find the export button" is more actionable than "add an export feature."

Show Customers You're Listening

Customers who give you feedback want to know it mattered. Sharing your roadmap and progress updates closes that loop — turning one-time respondents into long-term advocates.

Compound Improvement

Post-launch surveys on shipped features mean you never stop learning. Each version gets better because it's informed by how real users experienced the last one.

Getting Started

Choose Your Platforms

Start with 1-2 platforms where your audience already is:

  • LinkedIn: Great for B2B and professional audience
  • Discord: Build a dedicated community
  • Slack: Share technical insights with your team and collaborators

Set Up Your Profile

  • Clear bio explaining what you're building
  • Link to your product or landing page
  • Professional photo or logo
  • Consistent username across platforms

Make Your First Post

Start simple:

🚀 Starting a new journey!

I'm building [Product Name] - [One-line description]

The problem: [Pain point you're solving]

Follow along as I build in public and share:
• Progress updates
• Lessons learned
• Behind-the-scenes

Let's go! 💪

#BuildInPublic #IndieHacker

What to Share

Progress Updates

Share what you're working on:

  • Features in development
  • Design mockups
  • Code snippets (if relevant)
  • Completion percentages

Milestones

Celebrate wins, big and small:

  • First line of code
  • First user
  • First paying customer
  • Revenue milestones
  • Feature launches

Challenges

Be honest about difficulties:

  • Technical problems you're solving
  • Business challenges
  • Decisions you're struggling with
  • Failures and what you learned

Metrics

Share numbers (if comfortable):

  • User growth
  • Revenue (MRR/ARR)
  • Engagement metrics
  • Conversion rates

Learnings

Teach what you learn:

  • Technical tutorials
  • Business insights
  • Tools and resources
  • Mistakes to avoid

Content Strategies

Daily Updates

Quick posts about what you're working on today:

Today's focus: Building the survey builder UI

Making it super easy to create surveys without code.

Progress: 60% done ✅

#BuildInPublic

Weekly Recaps

Summarize your week every Friday:

Week in Review 📊

✅ Shipped: Survey templates
✅ Fixed: 12 bugs
✅ Added: 23 new users
⏳ Next: Social media integration

#BuildInPublic #WeeklyUpdate

Monthly Retrospectives

Deep dive into your month:

  • What went well
  • What didn't work
  • Key metrics
  • Lessons learned
  • Goals for next month

Behind-the-Scenes

Show your process:

  • Your workspace setup
  • Tools you use
  • Daily routine
  • Decision-making process

Best Practices

Be Authentic

Share your real experience, not a highlight reel. People connect with authenticity.

Be Consistent

Post regularly, even if it's just small updates. Consistency builds momentum and audience.

Engage, Don't Just Broadcast

Respond to comments, ask questions, and have conversations. Building in public is about community.

Give Before You Ask

Share value first. Help others, share insights, and build goodwill before asking for support.

Common Concerns

"Someone will steal my idea"

Ideas are cheap; execution is everything. By the time someone copies you, you'll be months ahead. Plus, transparency builds trust that copycats can't replicate.

"I'm not interesting enough"

You don't need to be interesting—your journey is. People follow progress, not perfection. Your struggles and wins are relatable.

"What if I fail publicly?"

Failure is part of the journey. Sharing your failures makes you more relatable and helps others avoid the same mistakes. The community will support you.

"I don't have time"

Start small. One tweet a day takes 2 minutes. Use Release Cadence to automate updates when features change status.

Using Release Cadence

Automate Updates

Let Release Cadence post for you:

  • Auto-post when features move to "In Progress"
  • Auto-post when features are released
  • Schedule weekly progress updates
  • Share survey results automatically

Share Your Roadmap

Make your roadmap public:

  • Let users see what you're building
  • Allow voting on features
  • Collect feedback directly
  • Build anticipation for launches

Engage Your Community

Use surveys to involve your audience:

  • Ask what to build next
  • Get feedback on designs
  • Validate feature ideas
  • Recruit beta testers

Success Stories

Indie Hackers

Many successful indie hackers built their audience before their product. They launched with thousands of followers who became their first customers.

SaaS Founders

Building in public helped SaaS founders validate ideas, find product-market fit faster, and grow through word-of-mouth.

Open Source Projects

Transparency is built into open source. Many projects grew massive communities by sharing their development process openly.

Resources

  • Indie Hackers: Community of builders sharing their journeys
  • LinkedIn Groups: Professional communities for builders
  • Our Discord: Join our community of builders

Your Action Plan

  1. Week 1: Set up profiles, make your first post
  2. Week 2: Share daily updates, engage with others
  3. Week 3: Post your first weekly recap
  4. Week 4: Share your public roadmap, ask for feedback
  5. Month 2: Establish a consistent posting rhythm
  6. Month 3: Analyze what's working, double down

Remember

Building in public isn't about being perfect. It's about being real, consistent, and helpful. Start today, share your journey, and watch your community grow.

The best time to start building in public was yesterday. The second best time is now.

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