Build in Public
Somebody’s always watching. So give them something worth watching.
The most important thing you can do right now, is to build in public. You’re going to encounter a lot of people who will say no, but those same folks will keep paying attention. They’re looking to see if what you’re building will last. Give them something to watch. Before you know it, they’ll come back around, wanting to be a part of what you’ve built.
This advice kept ringing in my ear as I left the investor meeting. Build in public. Somebody is always watching. Here’s the thing, I’m not exactly sure what that means. Does it mean sharing constant updates on social media about the progress of your business baby, even if it’s ugly? (A re-occuring line I’ve heard is don’t be afraid for someone to tell you that your baby is ugly.) I’ve always preferred real, in-person conversation over the facade of polished LinkedIn posts. But maybe that’s part of the game too.
Still, I think “building in public” means something deeper. Yes, it’s about bringing people along in your story, sharing the progress and the pivots. But it’s also about showing up in spaces that stretch you, like attending your first major conference and representing your work in a way that makes a lasting impression.
Last week my teammate and I spent the week in Houston at AfroTech and I’m still captivated by what I witnessed. Of the nearly 40,000 participants, many of them were fellow start up founders. Each one of us was doing some version of the same dance: pitching our ideas, hoping to make meaningful connections. Essentially, we were building in public.
Though the days were long (and as an extrovert, even I had to pace myself), I knew those one-on-one conversations would lead somewhere. AfroTech reminded me that conferences aren’t just about the deals you make in the moment, they’re about the seeds you plant and the connections you nurture long after you leave.
It felt fitting that we snapped a photo in front of the AfroTech Learning Labs sign. Because in many ways, that’s how we’ve approached building our company: as a living learning lab. We’re curious by design, constantly testing our ideas, applying what we learn, and iterating on what works. We were each called to this work because we believe the way we work, just isn’t working. So we’ve been building a better way, one that starts with leadership, my favorite topic.
Along the way, we’ve met countless leaders with a similar story. They’ve either had a bad manager or been that struggling manager. They know what it feels like to be on the wrong side of a developing leader and how costly that can be, personally and professionally.
But what struck us most at AfroTech wasn’t just the energy, it was the quiet resignation we heard from so many young professionals. These are brilliant, capable people who’ve decided they’re done with management altogether. They’ve seen too many examples of leadership gone wrong and concluded that being a manager isn’t worth it. Yikes! What if we’re not able to convince the right people to take up this mantle? What happens to workplaces if the next generation of leaders opts out before they even begin?
A few weeks ago, I shared my personal struggles with “losing” a pitch competition. This is the same struggle, just in a different form. It’s the challenge of finding market relevance in an age where managers are being scapegoated daily and it’s hard for people to imagine a version of work that truly works for everyone.
Still, this is what keeps us going: reimagining a world where leadership feels human again. Where managers aren’t just middle links in a chain, but multipliers of trust and possibility. Where people want to lead because they’ve seen it done with care and competence.
And sharing that journey, including what’s hard, what’s fun, what’s great, and what’s scary, is exactly what it means to build in public. It’s about letting people see the process, not just the polish. The rejections, not just the wins. The long days, not just the highlight reels.
Somebody’s always watching. So give them something worth watching.