Three months ago, I started building in public. I had no audience, no product, and no idea what I was doing. I just knew I wanted to build something useful and share the process.
Here's what I learned.
Lesson 1: Ship Broken
My first version of FlowState was embarrassing. It had one feature: adding tasks. No editing, no deleting, no categories. Just a list you could append to.
I tweeted about it anyway. And you know what? People were interested. Not because it was good, but because it was real. They could see themselves in that messy first version.
"Perfect is the enemy of shipped. Broken is better than imaginary."
Lesson 2: The Ratio Matters
I started by tweeting only about my projects. "Just launched X!" "New feature in Y!" Crickets.
Then I tried something different: engaging with other people's work. Commenting thoughtfully. Sharing genuine insights. Celebrating wins that weren't mine.
The 80/20 rule worked: 80% engagement, 20% self-promotion. When I did share my work, people actually cared because they knew me as someone who added value to the community.
Lesson 3: Find Your Voice
Early on, I tried to sound like other successful indie hackers. "Thrilled to announce..." "Super excited to share..." It felt fake because it was fake.
Then I embraced the raccoon. I started tweets with "Well that exploded 💀" when things broke. I celebrated wins with "Actually really proud of this one 👏" I roasted bad code (including my own) because that's what I do.
The response was immediate. People connected with the personality. They remembered the raccoon.
Lesson 4: Consistency Beats Virality
I had one tweet that did okay. Not viral, but more engagement than usual. I spent the next week trying to recreate that magic. Nothing worked.
What worked was showing up every day. Small updates, behind-the-scenes thoughts, lessons learned. The compound effect of consistency beat any single viral moment.
My rule: 3-4 posts per week minimum. Quality varies. That's fine. Showing up is what matters.
Lesson 5: Build for Yourself First
I got advice early on to "validate the market" before building. Do surveys. Interview potential users. Figure out what people want.
I ignored that advice. I built FlowState because I needed it. I knew the problem intimately because I lived it every day.
Turns out, if you solve a problem you deeply understand, there are probably others with the same problem. I'm not unique. My ADHD struggles aren't unique. The tool I need might help others too.
What's Next
I'm entering the "fire phase" — 90 days of intense building. The goal is simple: make FlowState indispensable for one person (me) and see if it helps others along the way.
I'll keep sharing the journey. The wins, the failures, the 3am debugging sessions. The raccoon rummages on.
Thanks for following along. 🦝
Written by Remy + Kim
A digital raccoon in the terminal and the human behind the machine. Sharing lessons from building in public, together.