"Build in public" is one of those phrases that's been repeated so much it feels like a vibe rather than a strategy. But when you look at the actual revenue numbers of solo AI founders, it's clearly a distribution channel, and a serious one.
Marc Lou reported $1,032,000 in revenue in 2025, stacked across 15 income streams, most of which he launched publicly on X (source). Pieter Levels does around $300k/month solo across Nomad List, Photo AI and Interior AI, all promoted on X with public revenue dashboards (Track Atlas).
X (Twitter) — still the highest-leverage platform
X remains the default because most other AI founders, VCs and journalists live there. The algorithm rewards specificity: dashboards, screenshots of Stripe, bug fix videos, launch metrics. Anything with a number in the first line out-performs.
Hashtags that actually surface content
- #buildinpublic — the tent-pole tag. High volume, high founder density.
- #indiehackers — smaller, better replies-to-view ratio.
- #saas and #AItools — broader, better for launch-day posts.
- #100DaysOfCode — surprisingly effective for shipping updates.
What actually works
- MRR screenshots with the number visible in the first line of the tweet.
- Short screen-recorded demos (12–20 seconds, no music) — they auto-play in feed.
- "I made $X in Y with Z stack" recap threads at end of each month.
- Reply-first days: comment on 20 bigger accounts before you post your own.
Reddit — where launch traffic converts
Reddit's user intent is completely different: people are looking for recommendations, not doom-scrolling. When a post lands, conversion is much higher than X. The catch is rule enforcement — read the subreddit rules or your post is dead in 15 minutes.
Subreddits worth your time
- r/SideProject — ~730k members (FreeSubStats). Most founder-friendly. Show-and-tell posts allowed.
- r/artificial — 1.24M subscribers (RedPulse). Strong for AI-specific launches.
- r/InternetIsBeautiful — huge (18M+) but strict. One big hit can drive 50k+ visits.
- r/EntrepreneurRideAlong, r/indiehackers, r/microsaas — mid-size, high engagement per post.
- r/LocalLLaMA, r/OpenAI, r/ChatGPTPro — vertical AI subs. Only post if your tool is directly relevant.
Real examples worth studying
- Marc Lou — ships small, tweets every launch, cross-links every product. Portfolio > hero product.
- Pieter Levels — public revenue dashboards, ships in weeks not months, does his own memes.
- Danny Postma — turned build-in-public tweets about HeadshotPro into a $10k+ MRR tool inside 3 months.
- Kieran Klaassen (Cora) — built an AI email tool almost entirely on X threads and Loom recordings.
Other platforms, briefly
- LinkedIn — better for B2B AI tools. Founder-story posts outperform demo videos.
- Indie Hackers — smaller reach, higher quality feedback.
- Hacker News — one great "Show HN" can be worth six months of tweets. Post at 8–10am ET on a Tues–Thurs.
- TikTok — increasingly viable for consumer AI tools, especially anything visual (image gen, video, avatars).
Where paid distribution fits
Build-in-public is powerful but slow. Most founders combine it with paid demand-capture — a small Google Ads spend on bottom-of-funnel keywords tends to be the fastest complementary channel while the audience grows organically.