Building in public feels a bit like showering in public.
(Which, interestingly enough, I've sort of done at Vabali Spa in Berlin, so maybe that prepared me for this.)
The comparison isn't as ridiculous as it sounds. Both require a certain comfort with vulnerability, with being seen in an unfinished state, with accepting that not everyone will appreciate the view.
When you build in public—sharing your process, your thinking, your inevitable mistakes—you're inviting feedback that goes far beyond "Great idea!" or "Smart approach!" You're opening yourself to the harder questions: "Did you notice that UX nightmare?" "Who is this supposed to be useful for?" "Seems strange that you didn't do X."
Two weeks into my current project, I got a perfect example of this dynamic in action.
A good friend asked: "What's the name of your thing again?"
"Metrikal AI," I replied confidently.
"Hmmm, did you notice [similar company name]?"
"No."
That simple exchange sent me into a mild panic. I'd gotten so excited about what I thought was a clever name that I'd bought the domains, started dreaming about the brand, and moved on to building features. I hadn't done proper due diligence on the name—a rookie mistake that felt particularly embarrassing to make in public.
The sting of that moment taught me three essential lessons about building in public:
Focus on the essentials. Naming isn't critical at this stage. Better to spend time building something useful that can be tested than either burning cycles on perfect naming or doing that process poorly.
Know where you can skimp and where you can't. Maybe I'm overly legally sensitive, but the last thing I want distracting me are cease and desist letters. Even when you're moving fast, you need to know which corners you absolutely cannot cut.
This is a full-contact sport. You're going to get hit, get a few bloody lips, maybe a concussion here and there. The key is learning to pick yourself up, brush off, and extract the lesson from the embarrassment.
So what did I do? I took a beat, did the research I should have done initially (thanks to ChatGPT Deep Research and Claude's research function), and found a name I could feel confident about. Not the perfect name, but one that's straightforward, legally clear, and serves the purpose.
That's how Metrikal AI became QualRank AI.
The real joy of building in public isn't avoiding these moments—it's learning to navigate them with grace. Each mistake becomes a teaching moment, each piece of feedback a chance to improve, each vulnerable moment a step toward building something genuinely useful.
The shower metaphor holds: it's uncomfortable at first, but eventually you realize that everyone's too focused on their own reflection to judge yours too harshly.