build in public examples are founders and companies who showed the work while it was still unfinished: the numbers, the launches, the mistakes, dated and left up where anyone can read them. the ones people name most are Pieter Levels, Marc Lou, Buffer, Base44, Stardew Valley and Sahil Lavingia at Gumroad. each shows a different way to do it. and one more, Building Underway, is a video series you can watch in order, from episode zero.
most pages for this search are a list of names with a line each. this one says what each example actually put in public, what shape it took, and what you can borrow from it. then it covers what the good ones have in common, and how to start your own without it turning into a second job.
What are some good build in public examples?
the short answer, one line each. the sections after it say what to take from them.
- Pieter Levels: Nomad List, Remote OK and the products after them, with revenue and progress posted on X for years, ordinary weeks included.
- Marc Lou: a run of small products, each one posted as it shipped, with what it is making.
- Buffer: salaries public since 2013, and revenue on a public dashboard that is updated every month.
- Base44: Maor Shlomo's app builder, grown by posting the build on LinkedIn and X rather than buying ads, and bought by Wix in June 2025, months after launch.
- Stardew Valley: Eric Barone posted progress on the game for years before it came out in 2016.
- Sahil Lavingia and Gumroad: open about the numbers, including the years the company shrank, and why.
- Building Underway: the series about making underway, filmed in underway, numbered from episode zero and left in order.
build in public examples by what they show
the names matter less than the shape. building in public is not one format. some people publish numbers, some publish the thing they shipped, some publish the long middle of a project nobody has seen yet. pick the shape that fits what you are making and what you are willing to share.
the numbers. Pieter Levels is the example people mean when they say build in public. the revenue and the progress of his products went out as they happened, over years, so you can read the slow months as well as the good ones. Buffer did the same thing as a company: salaries first, with the formula behind them, then revenue on a dashboard anyone can open. what to borrow: a number posted on a fixed rhythm is a story people follow, because they want to see the next one. this page does not repeat their figures. a number copied from an old post goes stale, and the posts are the source.
the shipping. Marc Lou posts the thing he made, often the same day it goes live. the post is the work, not an announcement written once the launch is safe. what to borrow: you do not need a big audience to start, you need a habit of showing the next small thing. a page of small finished things is more convincing than one big promise.
the launch. Base44 is the recent example most people reach for. it was built by one founder, Maor Shlomo, who posted what he was building and who was using it, and the attention that brought did the job ads would normally do. Wix bought it in June 2025, a few months after launch. what to borrow: the people who watched it being made were the first users. building in public works best when the audience is the same people you are building for.
the long making. Stardew Valley is the example from outside software. Eric Barone worked on the game mostly alone for years and posted progress along the way, so by the time it came out there were people who had watched it grow. what to borrow: a long project with nothing to sell yet is still worth showing. the making is the content.
the hard years. Sahil Lavingia wrote openly about Gumroad not becoming the company he set out to build, and about what he did next. most build in public posts are about growth. the ones people remember are often about a plan that did not work. what to borrow: say the bad week out loud. it is the post that makes the good ones believable.
what the good build in public examples have in common
- they are dated. you can tell when each post was made, and the next one follows it.
- they are serial. people come back to see what happened next, not for the cleverest opening line.
- they are in the founder's own words, not a polished recap written once the ending was known.
- they keep the ordinary weeks. a feed of only wins reads as an advert, and nobody follows an advert.
- there is somewhere to start. a newcomer can find the beginning and read or watch forward.
- the founder chose what to share. none of them published everything, and you do not have to either.
notice what is not on that list: a large following at the start, a production budget, or posting at a particular hour. none of that is what makes these examples work, and none of it is needed to begin.
one you can watch in order
Building Underway is the series about making this product, filmed in it. it opens with episode zero, the introduction, and then carries on in numbered episodes in the order they were filmed. nothing on that page is a mock-up of a customer, and nothing has been reordered to make a better story.
the real card that opens episode zero of Building Underway, the place a new viewer starts.
a real frame from episode 45 of Building Underway: one person, one phone, saying what happened.
the series, from episode zero: building underway.
you can also look inside the account that makes it, before you sign up. look around a real account is under the form on the signup page. it opens underway's own account as it stands, every episode and every screen, with no email and nothing saved. press anything you like: whatever would post, publish, record, spend or connect stops and says what it would have done in your own account.
how to start building in public without it becoming a second job
the examples above make it look effortless. it is not. the reason most people stop is not nerve, it is overhead: deciding what to say, setting up, filming or writing, editing, posting. so the plan that lasts is the one with the least of that.
- pick one place to start. X, LinkedIn, YouTube or a newsletter. you can add more once the habit holds.
- pick a rhythm you can keep on a bad week: weekdays, or three a week. the rhythm is the promise to your audience.
- make an introduction first. what you are building, who for, where it honestly stands, what comes next. it is where every new reader or viewer starts.
- post what happened since last time. a decision, a mistake, a customer, a number if you want to share one.
- count posts or episodes, not days. if you miss a week, the next one is simply the next one, with no gap on show.
- share only what you are happy to share. revenue is a choice, not a requirement.
| posts on X or LinkedIn | an open dashboard | a blog or dev log | a video diary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| what it costs you each time | a few minutes of writing | setting it up once | an hour or more of writing | a few minutes of talking, if someone else edits |
| what a stranger gets | a moment | the numbers | the reasoning | the person and the reasoning |
| where it suits | shipping small things | a business happy to share revenue | long projects and technical work | anyone who would rather talk than write |
| the example above | Marc Lou, Pieter Levels, Base44 | Buffer | Stardew Valley, Gumroad | Building Underway |
if the video shape suits you and the editing is what stops you, that is the job underway does. it asks you questions out loud, one at a time, about whatever you picked for this episode, and you answer for as long as each one takes. the cut comes back with the filler out, captions on and a card at the front with the episode number. answer by voice instead and it is still a numbered episode, as a podcast. nothing is public until you publish it, so you can film in private first and release the lot later.
a new account is a 7-day free trial of founder, series or studio, which is $29.99 a month after that. a card goes in at the start, and nothing is charged until day 8.
what build in public is not
a list of tips is not a build in public example. neither is a launch film cut to the best day, or a case study written a year later. all of those have their place, but they are told once the ending is known. the examples above are serial: you can tell what came next, because the next post or the next episode is dated and still there.
if you want to start one, the apps compared: build in public app.
faqs
What are some good build in public examples?
Pieter Levels on Nomad List and Remote OK, Marc Lou on what he ships, Buffer's open salaries and revenue, Base44 built in public and bought by Wix, Stardew Valley's years of progress posts, Sahil Lavingia on Gumroad, and Building Underway, which you can watch in order.
do i have to post revenue to build in public?
no. revenue is one shape of it. shipping logs, design decisions, customer conversations and honest bad weeks all count. share what you are happy to share.
where is the best place to build in public?
where the people you are building for already are. founders and developers read X and LinkedIn; a long project suits a blog or YouTube; people who would rather talk than write do better with video or a podcast.
how often should i post?
as often as you can keep up on a bad week. a steady rhythm matters more than a high one, because people follow the next instalment.
can i build in private first and publish later?
yes. in underway every episode stays in your vault until you publish it, so you can film now, in order, and release the whole run when you are ready to go public.
how to do it on youtube, from the first video: build in public on youtube.
what to do when nobody is watching yet: build in public with no audience.
Originally published at https://underway.life/build-in-public-examples
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