What launching 6 build in public projects this year has taught us so far
Introduction: the build in public experiment that changed everything
At Pyango, we made a bold decision at the beginning of this year: we would launch multiple projects completely in the open, documenting every step of our journey on YouTube and sharing our wins, failures, and everything in between with our community. What started as an experiment in transparency has become one of the most transformative approaches we've ever taken as a startup agency.
The build-in-public movement isn't new, but for a Swiss startup agency like ours, it felt risky. Would our clients trust us if they saw our failures? Would competitors steal our ideas? Would we have the discipline to maintain transparency when things got tough?
Almost 10 months later, we can definitively say: this experiment changed everything about how we operate, how we connect with our community, and how we think about business growth. Here's what launching six diverse projects in public has taught us.
Our build in public portfolio so far
Before diving into the lessons, let's quickly introduce the six projects that became our build-in-public laboratory:
Duedates became our productivity-focused project, tackling the eternal problem of deadline management that every startup faces. Pitch Perfect emerged from our own struggles with creating compelling presentations for clients and investors. Tomorrowdev represented our dive into the developer community, while 531 Riesling took us into completely uncharted territory - the intersection of lifestyle and personal development.
Researchbuddy grew out of our constant need for better research tools in our client work, and NON-Networking events Switzerland became our answer to the stale networking events that dominated the Swiss startup scene. Each project served different audiences, used different technologies, and taught us unique lessons about building in public.
What united them all was our commitment to radical transparency: every decision, every setback, every breakthrough was documented in dedicated YouTube playlists, giving our community unprecedented access to our real-time thinking and problem-solving processes.
The first lesson: transparency builds trust faster than perfect marketing
The first thing we learned completely upended our assumptions about marketing. We'd spent years crafting polished campaigns, perfect product demos, and carefully curated social media content. But when we started sharing raw, unfiltered updates about our projects, something unexpected happened: people trusted us more, not less.
Take our Duedates project. Instead of waiting until we had a perfect product to showcase, we shared our initial wireframes, our design struggles, even the moments when we questioned whether the market really needed another productivity tool. The response was overwhelming – not because our content was polished, but because it was real.
Our YouTube videos showing actual debugging sessions, failed user interviews, and pivot discussions consistently outperformed our traditional marketing content in terms of engagement and comments. People didn't just watch; they participated. They offered solutions, shared similar experiences, and became emotionally invested in our success.
This taught us that in an age of perfect Instagram feeds and polished LinkedIn posts, authenticity has become the ultimate differentiator. When you show the messy middle of building something, you're not just sharing content – you're building a relationship based on trust and mutual vulnerability.
Failure in public is actually a competitive advantage
This was perhaps our biggest mental hurdle to overcome. As a professional services agency, we'd been conditioned to only showcase our successes. The idea of documenting failures, pivots, and dead ends felt like professional suicide. We were wrong – spectacularly wrong.
Our most-watched YouTube videos weren't the ones celebrating successful launches; they were the ones where we admitted mistakes, showed vulnerability, and demonstrated how we learned from setbacks. When Tomorrowdev's initial concept failed to gain traction and we had to completely pivot the platform, we documented every step of that painful process.
The result? That "failure series" attracted more engaged comments, shares, and new subscribers than any of our success stories. People connected with our struggle because everyone has experienced failure, but few are brave enough to talk about it openly. By showing our failures, we weren't just being transparent – we were being relatable.
More importantly, this vulnerability created a competitive moat that our competitors couldn't easily replicate. Anyone can copy a successful strategy, but it takes genuine courage to expose your failures. This authenticity became a key differentiator that attracted clients who valued honesty and learning over perfection.
Consistency beats perfection, always
One of our biggest internal debates was about content quality. Should we only share updates when we had something significant to report? Should every video be perfectly edited and professionally produced? The answer, we learned, was a resounding no.
Our most successful projects from a community-building perspective were the ones where we maintained consistent, regular updates – even when those updates were mundane. Weekly check-ins about small progress on 531 Riesling generated more sustained engagement than monthly deep-dives with perfect production values.
The reason became clear: building in public isn't about creating content; it's about creating connection. People weren't following us for entertainment; they were following us for authenticity and learning. They wanted to see the real process of building something, which is 90% small, incremental progress and 10% breakthrough moments.
This lesson transformed how we approach content creation across all our projects. We stopped waiting for the "perfect" moment to share and started documenting our journey as it actually happened – messy, imperfect, and beautifully human.
Build in public is a long-term brand strategy
Initially, we thought building in public was a clever marketing tactic – a way to generate buzz around our projects and attract early users. We couldn't have been more wrong. What we discovered was that transparency isn't just a marketing strategy; it's a fundamental business philosophy that transforms every aspect of how you operate.
The most immediate impact was on lead quality. When potential clients found us through our build-in-public content, they already understood our approach, our values, and our capabilities. They weren't just looking for any agency; they were specifically seeking partners who valued transparency, learning, and collaborative problem-solving.
This pre-qualification effect was remarkable. Traditional marketing often attracts a wide funnel of prospects who need extensive education about what you do and why you do it differently. Our build-in-public approach attracted people who already resonated with our methodology. Sales conversations shifted from convincing prospects to choose us, to collaborative discussions about how we could work together.
The trust factor in these conversations was unlike anything we'd experienced before. When a potential client had already watched us navigate challenges, admit mistakes, and demonstrate problem-solving skills through our YouTube documentation, the typical trust-building phase of sales was largely complete before we even met.
Perhaps most significantly, the clients we attracted through build-in-public had dramatically higher retention rates and project satisfaction scores. They knew exactly what they were getting, which eliminated the misaligned expectations that often plague client relationships.
The mental health aspect no one talks about
Nobody prepared us for the emotional intensity of building in public. While most discussions focus on the strategic benefits, the psychological impact is equally significant and often more challenging than any technical hurdle you'll face.
Building in public creates a unique form of pressure. Every decision becomes a potential content piece, every setback becomes a public moment of vulnerability, and every success carries the weight of community expectation. With our NON-Networking events, we felt the pressure to not just organize successful events, but to document and share insights that would be valuable to our audience – even when we were exhausted after a long day.
The criticism, when it came, felt more personal than traditional business feedback. When someone questioned our approach to 531 Riesling in a YouTube comment, it wasn't just critiquing our product – it felt like they were critiquing our judgment, our competence, our worth as entrepreneurs. This amplified emotional response to feedback became something we had to actively manage.
We developed several strategies that proved essential: First, we established "documentation boundaries" – certain discussions and decisions remained private until we were ready to share them thoughtfully. Second, we created a "48-hour rule" for responding to negative feedback, giving ourselves time to process emotions before crafting responses. Third, we instituted regular team check-ins specifically about the mental health impact of our public building.
Most importantly, we learned that building in public requires the same kind of emotional resilience as any other form of leadership – but with the added challenge of doing it under constant observation. The key is remembering that your audience is rooting for you, not waiting for you to fail.
What we'd do differently (and what we'd double down on)
Looking back at our build-in-public journey, there are definitely things we'd approach differently – and others we'd amplify even more dramatically.
Our biggest mistake was inconsistent documentation systems. In the early months, we relied on ad-hoc recording and note-taking, which meant we lost valuable insights and struggled to maintain our content calendar. If we were starting over, we'd invest in proper systems from day one: dedicated cameras for workspace recording, standardized templates for project updates, and scheduled time blocks for reflection and documentation.
We underestimated the importance of community management. While we were great at creating content, we initially treated YouTube comments and social media engagement as an afterthought. The projects that thrived were the ones where we actively participated in discussions, asked follow-up questions, and made our audience feel heard. Community building requires as much intentional effort as product building.
We should have been more strategic about cross-pollination between projects. Each project developed its own audience, but we missed opportunities to introduce followers of one project to others that might interest them. A more systematic approach to connecting our various communities could have amplified our overall reach.
What surprised us most was how much building in public improved our internal processes. Knowing we'd be sharing our decision-making process made us more thoughtful about documentation, more rigorous about testing assumptions, and more honest about evaluating results. The external accountability improved our internal standards.
Moving forward, we're doubling down on the practices that worked: consistent weekly updates regardless of progress size, radical transparency about both successes and failures, active community engagement, and treating our audience as collaborators rather than consumers. These principles have become core to how Pyango operates, not just how we market.
Your build in public action plan
Ready to start your own build-in-public journey? Here's the practical roadmap we wish we'd had when we started:
Choose your first project strategically. Don't start with your most important or sensitive project. Pick something with clear, measurable progress that you're genuinely excited about. The enthusiasm will carry you through the inevitable awkward early days of documentation. Look for projects where the process itself might be valuable to others – like we found with Pitch Perfect, where our presentation struggles resonated with fellow entrepreneurs.
Set up your documentation infrastructure early. Invest in basic recording equipment, choose your primary platform (we recommend starting with one – YouTube worked well for us), and create simple templates for regular updates. The key is removing friction from the documentation process. If it's hard to record or share updates, you won't maintain consistency.
Your first month should follow this pattern: Week 1: Introduce your project and why you're building it. Week 2: Share your initial research and planning process. Week 3: Document your first real challenges and how you're approaching them. Week 4: Reflect on what you've learned and what you'll focus on next. This creates a rhythm that your audience can follow and anticipate.
Avoid these common pitfalls: Don't wait until you have something "worth" sharing – the mundane progress is often more valuable than breakthrough moments. Don't ignore your community – engagement is what transforms content into connection. Don't abandon projects publicly without explanation – your audience invested in the journey and deserves closure. Don't sacrifice your mental health for content – set boundaries and stick to them.
Conclusion: why build in public is here to stay
As we look toward the future of business building, one thing has become crystal clear: transparency isn't just a trend – it's becoming the new standard for how authentic companies operate.
The traditional model of building in secret, launching with fanfare, and hoping for the best is increasingly outdated in a world where consumers crave authenticity and connection. People want to support businesses they understand, trust, and feel connected to. Building in public provides all three.
For startups especially, this approach offers advantages that traditional companies struggle to replicate. Large corporations can't easily expose their decision-making processes or admit failures publicly without significant risk. But as a startup, your transparency becomes a competitive advantage – your agility, your willingness to learn, and your authentic connection with your community are assets that money can't buy.
At Pyango, building in public has become more than a marketing strategy – it's fundamentally changed who we are as a company. We're more thoughtful, more connected to our community, and more honest about our journey. These aren't just better business practices; they're better ways to live and work.
Ready to start your own build-in-public journey? Pick one project, set up a simple documentation system, and commit to sharing your progress – the good, the bad, and the mundane – for the next month. Your future self, your community, and your business will thank you.
The question isn't whether building in public works – our six projects have proven that beyond doubt. The question is whether you're ready to embrace the vulnerability, consistency, and authenticity that make it work. If you are, your community is waiting to join your journey.
Want to see our build-in-public journey in action? Check out our YouTube playlists documenting each project, or reach out to us directly to share your own build-in-public story. We're always excited to connect with fellow transparent builders.
