🎪 Build in Public: Luck Surface Area, Ramen Profitability, Storytelling

Hey there, Welcome to the 320 new entrepreneurs who joined last week. Congrats to [pram.eth]( for becoming a Lifetime Trends Pro Member by collecting the MetaTrends #0083 NFT. 🎪 Let's talk about Building in Public. Thanks [Arvid Kahl](, [Ashwin](, [Aaron Aalto](, [Nyssa Cromwell](, [Brian Casel](, [Maciej Cupial](, [Sharath Kuruganty](, [Fausto Sá Teles](, [EK](, [Katt Risen](, [Shashank]( and [Prabhjot Singh Lamba](. We had a great time jamming on this report. What you'll learn: - How to validate ideas? - How to build an audience? - How to get fast feedback? - Why social accountability matters? - How to meet new friends, mentors and investors? - How to think about copycats? - How to repurpose content? This report is brought to you by [Mercury](...  We've been using [Mercury]( at Trends.vc for 16 months. We were super excited when [Mercury]( reached out to sponsor us. [Mercury]( is the banking stack for startups* . It's easy to use and may be the best-designed product in our stack (check out their [demo](). We've tried several banks and none come close. [Mercury]( has no monthly fees, physical and virtual debit cards, domestic and international wires, currency exchange, integrations with the tools your startup uses, and a delightful mobile app. I recommend [Mercury]( to [every friend]( that's looking for business banking. Building a startup is hard enough. [Mercury]( just works. It has everything you need. Ready to get started? [Open an Account]( *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust®; Members FDIC   Build in Public]( "Work with the garage door open." 💎 Why It Matters Building in public helps you: - Validate ideas - Stay top-of-mind - Get fast feedback - Build connections with stakeholders 🔍 Problem [](You need to break through noise to share your story. 💡 Solution Make a habit of sharing struggles, wins, milestones, questions and lessons. ​​🏁 Players People Building in Public - [Dru Riley]( • [Trends.vc]( creator who shares [progress]( and [failures]( [in public](. - [Arvid Kahl]( • Sharing lessons on [bootstrapping and building in public](. - [Aaron Aalto]( • Designer and artist building [Wagmi Table](. - [Sharath Kuruganty]( • Co-founder of [Shoutout](. Shares insights around no-code, community and product. - [Naya Moss]( • Building [Frauvis](. A newsletter, community and job board. - [Maciej Cupial]( • Building [Calendesk](. An online booking system. - [Zoe Chew]( • Shares projects on her [personal site](. - [Karthik Puvvada (KP)]( • The "Build In Public" Guy. He was [offered a job]( with [OnDeck]( in public. - [Justin Jackson]( • Building [Transistor.fm](. A podcast publishing platform. - [Brian Casel]( • Building [ZipMessage](. A video messaging tool for async conversations. - [Janel Loi]( • Building [Newsletter OS](. A framework to launch and run your newsletter. - [EK]( • Building [Appbasics]( and [RubyOnRemote]( - [Damon Chen]( • Building [Testimonial](, [Embed](, [Supportman]( and [See Ya Future](. - [Brett Williams]( • Building a [one-person](, [million-dollar]( design service - [Designjoy](.  🔮 Predictions - Creators will use podcasts as a channel to build in public. See examples: - [The Build in Public Podcast]( where [KP]( interviews creators. - [Startups for the Rest of Us]( where [Rob Walling]( shares his journey building [MicroConf]( and [TinySeed](. - [The Bootstrapped Founder]( where [Arvid Kahl]( opens up about the process of writing books, making courses and building [PermanentLink](. - [Lunch Pail Daily]( where [Lola]( talks about no-code and growing a solo business. - [Product Journey Podcast]( where [Noah Bragg]( and [Ben Mann]( talk about the journey of building bootstrapped businesses. - [Bootstrapped Web]( where [Brian Casel]( shares his journey building [ZipMessage](. - [Software Social]( where [Colleen Schnettler]( and [Michele Hansen]( jam on building [Simple File Upload]( and [Geocodio](. - [The Art of Product]( where [Ben Orenstein]( and [Derrick Reimer]( share updates on [SavvyCal]( and [Tuple](. - More companies will be built around [accountability challenges](. - [Creative Companion Club]( is for creators. - [100 Days of No-Code]( is for builders. - [Ship 30 for 30]( is for writers.  ☁️ Opportunities - Find your tribe. Engage with subcommunities. - [#fintwit]( is for finance. - [#retwit]( is for real estate. - [#100DaysOfNoCode]( is for builders. - Share more than revenue. There are other ways to build in public. You can: - Share Lessons • [Cameron]( keeps a [thread of mistakes](. - Share Goals • [Pat Walls]( added his goal to his Twitter bio. - Build Waitlists • [EK]( built a 50-person waitlist for [Appbasics](. - Request Help • [Dru Riley]( asks Twitter [who should he talk to for reports](. - Share Milestones • [Jacky]( reached ramen profitability ([$5,000 MRR](). - Reflect on Progress • [Noah Bragg]( shared his [one-year update on Potion.so](. - Offer Help • Stripe [offered to help]( developers building in public using their API. - Share your Roadmap • [Filip]( shared [a preview]( of an upcoming [Tally]( release. - Show New Features • [Brian Casel]( reveals new [ZipMessage features]( on Twitter. - Share Struggles • [Danny]( shared the process behind [shutting down Rareblocks](. - Join a challenge. Social accountability works. - [12 startups in 12 months]( helps you launch a startup every month for 12 months. - [100 Days of No-Code]( helps you bring your ideas to life in 100 days. - [Ship 30 for 30]( helps you get started writing online in 30 days. - Repurpose content. - [Dru Riley]( wrote [How I built a paid community to 1,000+ members in 10 months]( as an essay before turning it into a [Twitter thread]( and sharing the story on [podcasts](. - [Arvid Kahl]( turns blog posts into tweets, threads, podcast episodes, books and courses. - [Nathan Barry]( turned his [iconic blog post]( into a [Twitter thread](  🏔️ Risks - Person > Persona • Don't lose yourself while building in public. It's easy to become obsessed with crafting narratives. Building in public is [performative]( but find balance. - Copycats • Sharing success and strategies will lead to copycats. [Feature parity]( is possible in SaaS. While creators and communities are categories of one. - Competitors • Oversharing can allow incumbents to frontrun your roadmap. [Buffer](, one of the most open companies, throws caution to the wind and shares their [full roadmap](. 🔑 Key Lessons - Building in public has benefits beyond reaching customers. You can: - Recruit team members - Get fast feedback - Meet new friends - Find evangelists - Meet mentors - Find investors - Early followers become invested in your journey when you involve them by asking for feedback and sharing struggles. See the [Endowment Effect](. - Building in public works because transparency is scarce. We value authenticity and vulnerability. As [Brené Brown]( says “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it's our greatest measure of courage.  🔥 Hot Takes - If building in public feels like a job to you. It won't last. Choose a strategy that you can maintain. Don't like Twitter? No problem. Podcast or make videos. - Building in public is performative. [Embrace it](. Be authentic. Tell honest stories and build connections. 😠Haters "What if people judge me?"This is your ego talking. The bad news is that no one cares about you. The good news is that no one cares about you. [We care about ourselves and our problems](. Focus on providing value and sharing stories. [Fear-Setting]( can also help you overcome stage fright. "I don't have any followers. No one's listening."Don't try to boil the ocean. Join small communities and connect with people one-on-one. Highlight others' work. Dickie Bush [gained early followers by appreciating others](. "Building in Public? This sounds like Bragging in Public."If you only share wins, this is bragging. And inauthentic. Share the [ups]( and the [downs](. 🔗 Links - [Who should I talk to about building in public?]( • The tweet behind this report. - [Origins of Building in Public](• Twitter tries to figure out where building in public started. - [Building in Public: 20 Examples & a How-To Guide]( • A comprehensive guide including the types of content to share  📁 Related Reports - [Open Startups]( • Open dashboards help you continuously share. - [Audience-First Products]( • Build trust before you build products. - [Personal Brands]( • Personal brands have higher affinity than business brands. - [Presales]( • Building in public can lead to presales. - [Influencer Marketing]( • Building trust helps you become your own influencer. What else? [Trends PRO #0084 — Build in Public]( has more insights. What you’ll get: - 33 People Building in Public (135% More) - 4 Predictions (100% More) - 11 Opportunities (175% More) - 6 Risks (100% More) - 6 Key Lessons (100% More) - 5 Hot Takes (150% More) - 10 Links (233% More) With Trends Pro you'll learn: - (📈 Pro) How to tell great stories? - (📈 Pro) How to earn as you learn? - (📈 Pro) How to grow your luck surface area? - (📈 Pro) Which founder sold his company in 5 hours by building in public? - (📈 Pro) Who reached ramen profitability by building in public? - (📈 Pro) Who are the pioneers of building in public? - (📈 Pro) Which new industries are building in public? Unlock Trends Pro ✅ Access All Trends Pro Reports ✅ Stay Accountable with Daily Standups ✅ Meet Curious Entrepreneurs in Weekly Meetups ✅ Discuss Reports with Domain Experts ✅ Collaborate on Upcoming Reports  [Become A Trends Pro Member]( To sign up for Trends Pro, [click here](. To get insights on Twitter, [click here](. To sponsor a report, [click here](. 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