Made In Public

Laura Thompson, former Deloitte and EY strategic marketer with a dance and personal training background, shares how redundancy and her mother’s unexpected death pushed her to build in public. She now runs Connect Studio, helping founder-led businesses translate strategy into meaningful marketing, while developing The Yard, a “third space” in West Sussex for people to work, move, and belong unfiltered. Laura explains how perfectionism and corporate-style launches can delay progress, arguing instead for validating ideas early through conversations, small actions, and visible iteration. She describes recent steps—naming the concept, mood-boarding, contacting the council about buildings, using Claude for visual identity, and gathering proof of concept via networking. Next, she plans pilot sessions combining coworking in a coffee shop with a mid-morning PT workout, then repeating to build demand before seeking investors.00:00 Laura’s Origin Story00:51 Why Build in Public01:47 What Is The Yard03:32 Loss and Redundancy Catalyst04:58 Perfectionism and Corporate Fear07:33 Small Steps Over Big Launches10:03 Validation and Stakeholder Buy In11:38 Founder Accountability Systems15:47 Live Updates and Early Momentum16:23 Naming The Yard and Next Moves18:10 Using AI to Shape the Brand18:33 LLMs as Business Coaches18:53 Crafting a Vivid Vision21:04 Beating Fear and Self Talk22:42 Start Small in Public25:02 Past Projects and Pivots26:16 Next Steps for The Yard27:57 Build Demand Before Spending29:28 Mission Over Money30:49 Where to Find Laura31:29 Final Push to Post

In this episode of Made in Public, the John speaks with Ben and James about why founders should “build in public” to avoid a risky cold-start launch and instead create a warm start by building trust, awareness, and interest early—before rent, staff, or agency costs kick in. They explain building in public as increasing “surface area” for luck, shortening the learning curve by iterating in public, and even enabling pre-orders and investor interest. The conversation covers why consumers increasingly value tribe, connection, and status, and how brands can differentiate even in crowded categories, with examples including Sult, Midday Squares, and Perfect Ted’s employee-generated content. They discuss common barriers like fear, cringe, and worrying about credibility, plus strategies for standing out amid AI-generated content by adding friction and differentiation (e.g., in-person formats) and the potential shift toward live content. LinkedIn is framed as an underused marketing channel where text still cuts through, with advice to choose platforms you can consistently show up on and outsource repurposing when needed.00:00 Cold Start Warning00:44 Meet The Guests01:05 What Building Public Means01:54 Stagger Posts Learn Fast03:24 Warm Start Marketing04:26 Tribe Status Community06:17 Brand Examples And Free08:06 Why People Hold Back10:22 Sponsor Break Podcast Agency12:54 AI Slop Add Friction15:14 Build Public Inspiration17:15 Reality Show Branding18:04 Employee Led Posting18:29 Max Jones LinkedIn Bet19:58 LinkedIn Becomes Entertainment22:16 Pick Platforms and Repurpose25:06 Live Content Future28:51 Build In Public Live Ideas30:26 Overwhelm and Getting Help32:44 Final Takeaways and Thanks

This week John Blackburn interviews Jamie Vaughan, co-founder of Restless, an AI marketing company for a social world, days after launch. They unpack what “building in public” means, why Jamie chose “building in secret in public” due to co-founder notice periods, and how the teaser-style content created intrigue, inbound conversations, and even paying clients by launch day. Jamie explains Restless’ two-sided model: Antenna, a managed SaaS platform that ingests proprietary, public, and third-party data to create objective micro-personas and let teams test hooks and copy, alongside social agency services that apply those insights to ads and content. They discuss AI’s strengths (data analysis, pattern matching) versus weaknesses (taste, humor), the role of human creativity, how AI could change agency scaling, and why founders should post rather than “launch into silence,” including thoughts on humor and live formats as antidotes to generic AI content.00:00 Teaser and Hook00:27 Meet Jamie Vaughan02:12 What Building in Public Means03:06 Secret in Public Strategy05:36 Launch Results and Noise07:17 Guy Ritchie Launch Video09:22 What Restless Actually Is11:41 Antenna Platform Deep Dive14:22 Managed SaaS Not Self Serve15:55 Advice for Nervous Founders18:50 The Alternative Is Silence19:44 Inbound Demand Engine20:34 Launch Without The Desert21:06 Building Public Launches22:17 Vertical Drop Sponsor22:50 Consumer Launch Playbook24:17 Rebranding The Vlog24:49 AI Adoption For Teams25:43 What AI Is Bad At28:52 Scaling Agencies With AI32:10 Humor Beats AI Slop34:06 Live Content And Trust36:11 What Happens Next

Episode one of Made in Public is recorded in a camper van with Dan and Elise Rowntree, founders of Mood Haus, a sauna, cold plunge, and community wellness concept launched publicly before they had a site or facilities. They explain why they posted that their “ducks are firmly not in a row,” how a Cameron Herold “vivid vision” document helped make the idea real, and how building in public overcame Elise’s fear of public failure after a corporate career. Since posting, they’ve received validation, site offers, investor and collaboration interest, and momentum that led to exploring a much larger 14,000 sq ft opportunity. They share how quitting alcohol and seeking mood alteration through contrast therapy shaped Mood Haus “sauna 2.0” vision focused on social wellness, experiences, and community.00:00 Ducks Not In Row00:18 Meet Mood Haus Founders01:01 Why Post Before Ready03:03 Elise Fear Of Failure05:15 Vivid Vision Goes Live06:12 Building In Public Mindset10:55 Cornwall Chapter Closes14:20 Market Timing And Competition16:54 What A Vivid Vision Is21:20 Post Results And New Sites22:32 Big Cornwall Site Lead23:43 Sponsor Vertical Drop24:16 Unexpected Investor Interest25:08 Stars Aligning Fast25:54 Local Partners And Saunas26:57 Why Build In Public27:42 Community Over Perfection29:22 Bigger Vision Bigger Site30:56 What Mood Haus Is31:38 Quitting Alcohol Origin Story35:12 Sauna 2.0 Mood Focus36:38 AI Sauna Prescription App38:09 Market Proof And Benchmarks39:50 Next Steps And Site Challenges40:48 Content Creation And Branding42:55 Full Circle And Momentum44:06 Closing Thanks And Founders