Hi there,

After a week in Egypt, I’m writing this on the plane, heading back to London, back to the office, and pushing toward the first episode launch of my podcast, The Insane Founder. I can’t wait to share it with you all. So many exciting projects coming up, and it’s made me think a lot about the whole idea of building in public as a founder.

Technically, in some way, I already am–sharing what I’ve learned from years in startups here and what I’m learning now. But where should I be sharing more? So, I decided to start one–a podcast. But this also made me speak to so many founders about their strategies and thoughts on building in public, how it’s changed from the Airbnb days to now, and how brand founders are using platforms like Substack, beehiiv, and X to share and build online.

Now, onto today’s essay.

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The Old Way: Secrecy, PR, and Controlled Narratives

In the early 2010s, most startups followed the same path:

• Build quietly, focusing on product-market fit.

• Keep insights and failures private.

• Make a big splash when ready–via TechCrunch, demo days, or investor pitches.

Transparency was limited to PR campaigns and investor updates, not daily Twitter threads. The idea was that stealth created an edge. But in 2024, that edge belongs to those who build in public.

And I get it–founders have historically resisted public transparency out of fear. Fear of looking like they don’t have it all figured out. Fear of competitors stealing ideas. Fear of signaling weakness to investors.

But behavioral psychology tells us something interesting—the Pratfall Effect suggests that people who openly share their struggles appear more competent, not less. When we see the struggle, the messiness, the near-misses–it humanizes the journey. And that’s what makes people root for you.

The Shift: Building in Public Became the Power Move

At some point, founders realized that sharing their journey wasn’t just about engagement–it became a growth strategy.

• Stripe, Notion, and Superhuman used early audience-building to refine their GTM strategy.

• Open dashboards, Twitter threads, and failure essays became competitive advantages.

• Trust and relatability started driving more interest than polished corporate branding.

This shift is rooted in something behavioral psychologists call Commitment Bias–when people see you working toward something over time, they become more invested in your success.

The best founders don’t just sell a product; they make their audience part of the story. And when people feel like they’ve been with you since the early days, they become lifelong customers and advocates.

2024 and Beyond: Founders as Media Brands

The next evolution? Founders aren’t just engaging with their audience–they are the audience. They’re writing newsletters, launching podcasts, and cultivating followings that give them outsized influence. Examples:

• Harry Stebbings (20VC)–Started as a podcaster, now runs a $400M VC fund.

• Sahil Bloom–Turned his writing into a platform that powers an investment empire.

• Jason Yanowitz (Blockworks) & Packy McCormick (Not Boring)–Used content to create capital, not just clicks.

These founders didn’t just talk about startups–they built an audience first, and that audience became the foundation for everything that followed. Their media-first approach flipped the old model–instead of building a product and then finding customers, they built an audience and then created the right product for them.

Why It Works: Trust, Community, and Distribution

Newsletters, podcasts, and online communities give founders something money can’t buy: trust. The direct connection to an audience makes everything easier:

• Fundraising? Warm intros replace cold decks.

• Hiring? Talent flocks to founders they trust.

• GTM? Distribution is built before the product even launches.

This is where the Mere Exposure Effect (a psychological principle) comes in–when people see your content regularly, they begin to associate you with authority and credibility. And over time, that familiarity breeds trust.

Another powerful mental model at play here is The Ikea Effect–we value things more when we feel involved in their creation. By bringing their audience along for the ride, founders build deeper loyalty than traditional marketing ever could.

Where This Goes Next: The 'Influencer' Founder Era

So, does every founder now need to be a creator? Maybe.

A viral Substack could soon carry more weight than a pitch deck. An engaged Twitter audience might be a better fundraising tool than a well-connected VC. And we may be heading toward a world where investors won’t back founders without an audience.

But there’s a balance. Building in public doesn’t mean sharing everything. The best founders use strategic transparency–they show the struggle, but they also curate what they share to keep control of the narrative.

It’s not about chasing virality. It’s about controlling the narrative before someone else does. In 2024, being a great storyteller isn’t optional–it’s part of the job.

– Lavena Xu-Johnson

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