Why Most Build-in-Public Founders Are Talking to the Wrong Audience (And How to Fix It)
If you've ever built in public, you know the drill: You launch a new feature. You post an update. The likes roll in. And then you realize something: none of those people are your actual customers.
They're fellow makers, indie hackers, and founders just like you. That's the echo chamber problem — and it's quietly holding back a lot of build-in-public journeys.
The Echo Chamber Trap
Building in public has a lot going for it. It creates accountability. It builds connections. It gives you encouragement on tough days.
But there's a downside nobody likes to talk about: Most of your engagement is from peers, not customers. Likes and retweets aren't validation. They feel good but don't equal traction.
Echo chambers create false signals. It's easy to think momentum is building, when in reality, it's just applause from the wrong crowd.
And here's the kicker: Once a founder starts getting attention, the focus can shift from building the product to growing on the platform. It feels like progress, but often it's a distraction. You end up chasing followers instead of solving customer problems.
The Hidden Cost
I came across a story of a founder who spent months sharing progress in indie hacker circles. Their posts got solid engagement, but sales were flat. Only later did they realize their true audience was small business owners — a group that wasn't even on Twitter.
This isn't unusual. It happens all the time:
- Developers building tools for non-technical users, but only promoting inside dev communities.
- SaaS founders talking endlessly to other SaaS founders, while their real market is elsewhere.
- Makers mistaking encouragement for demand.
The hidden cost is time. Time lost shouting into the void when you could have been in the right rooms, talking to the right people.
What Founders Actually Need
Founders don't need more likes. They don't need more indie hacker retweets. What they really need is:
- Clarity on who their users actually are.
- Awareness of where those people spend time.
- The discipline to separate real validation from social validation.
Because real traction doesn't come from an audience that claps for you — it comes from an audience that needs you.
How to Avoid the Trap
Even without fancy tools or dashboards, you can start breaking out of the echo chamber:
- Talk to real potential users early and often.
- Spend time in their spaces — not just your default founder circles.
- Treat likes and follows as encouragement, not as traction.
- Be intentional: share your journey, but don't mistake audience applause for customer validation.
Final Thoughts
The build-in-public movement has opened doors for thousands of founders. But like any movement, it has blind spots. The biggest one is this: an audience is not the same as a customer base.
So the next time your tweet gets a handful of likes, pause for a second. Ask yourself: Who are these people? Are they potential customers? Or am I just entertaining my peers?
Because the difference between the two is the difference between building a project that's admired… and building a business that actually grows.