What Dickie Bush Proved About Building in Public

The Business Story: From Finance Guy to Writing Movement

A few years ago, Dickie Bush was just another finance analyst in New York. No big following. No major personal brand.

Then he started posting short, unfinished ideas on Twitter. Not polished essays. Not grand “thought leadership” pieces. Just raw notes he was working through.

It didn’t look like a strategy. But it was.

In 2020, he launched Ship 30 for 30 with Nicolas Cole, a cohort-based course where people committed to publishing online daily for 30 days. What started as an experiment exploded into a movement. Thousands of people joined, posting their own “atomic essays,” iterating in public, and finding their voice in the process.

The growth wasn’t fueled by ads, SEO, or funnels. It was fueled by one principle: building in public.

Dickie’s genius wasn’t in being the smartest voice in the room. It was in being the most open. He turned process into product, and vulnerability into authority.

The Tip: Why Building in Public Works

Most people think you need a perfect idea before you share it.

But building in public flips that script: you share before it’s polished, and let the audience refine it with you.

That’s powerful because:

1. It builds trust. People see your real thinking, not just your final pitch.

2. It builds community. When others join in, the movement grows bigger than you.

3. It builds momentum. Small, public steps compound faster than private “perfect” plans.

This is what I call the Iterate > Codify > Amplify cycle:

• Iterate: Share your early thoughts, stories, or insights, even if they’re rough.

• Codify: Watch what resonates, then formalize those into frameworks.

• Amplify: Package the frameworks into content, offers, or products.

That’s how ideas scale. And that’s why Dickie’s “atomic essays” weren’t just posts, they were the building blocks of a brand.

The Personal Story: My Own Building-in-Public Shift

I’ve lived this too.

When I first started writing about personal branding, my posts were scattered. Some were about sales, some about writing, some about marketing. I didn’t have a polished framework yet.

But instead of holding back until everything was “ready,” I started posting my raw thoughts. Sometimes they landed. Sometimes they flopped. But over time, patterns emerged.

Those raw posts turned into the Creative Catalyst Method. They became the frameworks I use with clients today. And because I had been sharing openly the whole time, people didn’t just see the final product, they felt like they had watched me build it.

That transparency built trust. And that trust turned into DMs, clients, and long-term partnerships.

Just like Ship 30, the process itself became the proof.

Bringing It Home

Dickie Bush didn’t become a household name in the creator space because he had the most polished insights. He became one because he shared them before they were ready.

That’s the power of building in public.

If you want to grow your brand, stop waiting for perfection. Share what you’re working on. Show the process. Invite others in.

Because what looks unfinished to you can look trustworthy—and even magnetic—to the people watching.

That’s exactly what I help founders and executives do.

Through my Core Authority package, I help you:

✔ Craft your personal brand using the Creative Catalyst Method
✔ Publish 4 posts a week that show your expertise and your process
✔ Run done-for-you outreach that sparks real conversations

Clients on this package are getting 5–15 leads a month by pairing trust-building content with strategic outreach.

If you’re ready to start building in public and building trust at scale, reply with “Authority.”