HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Build in Public with Receipts

Build in Public with Receipts is a social & short-form tactic for getting your first users: Turn the act of building your business into a continuous, public content stream — shipped features, hard numbers, and honest failures — so an audience grows attached to your journey.

It's a strong fit for B2B SaaS and Dev tools / technical teams, and works especially well for B2B SaaS, indie/solo products, dev tools. As a social & short-form play, plan for low effort and expect results to build gradually over time, all grounded in 7 linked primary sources.

Social & short-formLow effortSlow

Why does social & short-form work for this?

Specific, vulnerable, real-time content is inherently authentic and shareable, and it gives followers a reason to root for you — discovery that paid spend cannot manufacture.

The exact steps (5)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

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Sources

Works for
B2B SaaSDev tools / technical

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Build in Public with Receipts" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for B2B SaaS and Dev tools / technical — pick it when your product looks like one of those, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Build in Public with Receipts" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 7 primary sources — real founder write-ups and interviews, not generic advice. They are linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original accounts yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is low effort, and results tend to be slow.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Indie Hacker Marketing Playbook and Building in Public Distribution Strategy, is in the paid library.

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