Is Building in Public Backwards?

Short summary

The author argues that the common practice of 'building in public'—narrating intentions before shipping—has the sequence backwards. Announcing unfinished work creates a false sense of progress and borrows credibility against promises that may not materialize. Instead, ship first and then speak: every post becomes a report of fact rather than a request for belief, and trust earned against real artifacts compounds over time while attention from empty announcements decays.

• •Announcing before shipping borrows credibility against unfulfilled promises
• •Narrating intentions competes with actual building for dopamine and time
• •Ship first, then write—trust from real artifacts compounds while hype decays

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