Building in Public: The Competitor Betrayal That Backfired
The Story
Hypefury’s early growth strategy was radical transparency. Yannick and Samy shared everything publicly: monthly revenue, growth milestones, Baremetrics screenshots. When they hit 11K, $12K, they fought over who got to share the screenshots first.
The transparency attracted followers. But it also attracted competitors.
Someone on their own team helped a competitor build a copycat product. The psychological blow was tough. It felt like a betrayal.
But something unexpected happened: their growth accelerated. The competition actually created a bigger market. More people became interested in Twitter growth tools. Many of them chose Hypefury.
What seemed like a disaster became a blessing.
Lesson for Creators
Building in public attracts both fans and competitors. That’s the trade-off, and it’s worth it in the early stages. But here’s the deeper lesson: competition creates markets. When a competitor validates your space, more potential customers discover the category. The pie gets bigger for everyone. Sometimes the worst things lead to the best outcomes.
Related
- Don’t Watch the Competition — Choosing to ignore competitors entirely and focus on your own product and users
- Permissionless Creation vs. Hollywood Gatekeepers — Building openly without asking for permission, even when it attracts copycats
- The Alter Ego Controversy - Fake Writers with LinkedIn Profiles — The trade-offs of transparency and creative growth tactics that can backfire