Things I wish I knew before: the hindsight slideshow format

A “things I wish I knew before” slideshow lists hard-won lessons about one specific milestone, one lesson per slide. The hook names the milestone. Five to seven slides each give a lesson with a reason, and the close invites people facing the same thing to comment.

It is hindsight, packaged for someone who doesn’t have it yet.

What is a “things I wish I knew” post?

It is a numbered list of lessons framed as advice to your past self. The first slide names the milestone, like starting a business, getting a puppy or renovating a kitchen. Each slide after that gives one thing you learned the hard way.

Slideshow guides list it as a standard template: “5 things I wish I knew before [starting X],” one lesson per slide (OpenClip). It is a close cousin of the mistakes listicle, but it faces the other way.

A mistakes post looks at what the viewer is doing wrong now. A “wish I knew” post hands them the knowledge before they need it.

What should X be?

The biggest decision is the milestone. Most creators pick their own journey: “before starting my business.” That works when your audience is people one step behind you, like other founders.

If you sell to customers, pick their milestone instead. A contractor writes “before renovating your kitchen,” a dog trainer “before getting a puppy,” a mover “before moving to Denver.” The post then reaches people right before they buy, and your experience is the proof.

Keep X specific. “Before starting out” is too vague for anyone to feel it is about them.

How to write lessons that don’t sound generic

Every lesson needs three parts: what you learned, what to do, and why.

• Generic: “Plan your budget carefully.”
• Specific: “Add a 15% buffer to the budget. Walls hide things you only find once they’re open.”

Order matters too. Put your strongest lesson on slide 2, right after the hook.

In a 2024 tip video, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said a carousel someone sees but doesn’t swipe can show up again, starting on its second slide (RouteNote). Slide 2 is your second cover, so save your second-best lesson for the end.

Second worked example: an app founder

The example slides on this page are written for a renovation business speaking to future clients. Here is the founder-journey version for someone building an app in public.

1. Hook: “Things I wish I knew before launching my first app”
2. Lesson 1: “1. Nobody finds your app by accident. Plan how people will hear about it before you write code.”
3. Lesson 2: “2. Charge from day one. Free users tell you what they like. Paying users tell you what they need.”
4. Lesson 3: “3. Your first screen sells harder than your store listing. I polished the wrong one for months.”
5. Lesson 4: “4. Submit for review early. Never announce a launch date for a build that isn’t approved.”
6. Lesson 5: “5. Talk to 20 users before adding a feature. I built three features nobody opened.”
7. Takeaway: “If I started over: distribution first, features second.”
8. CTA: “Building something? Comment what it does and I’ll tell you where I’d post it first.”

Every lesson has a number, an action and a reason. The strongest one, distribution, comes first and comes back in the takeaway.

Variations

• Customer milestone. “Things I wish every client knew before…” This is the version most businesses should use.
• Founder journey. “Things I wish I knew before starting my business.” It builds an audience of peers and works well for app makers and creators.
• Things nobody tells you. The same list, framed as insider knowledge rather than regret.
• Day-one letter. “What I’d tell myself on day one,” written as a short note across the slides.
• Year 1 vs year 5. Pair each early belief with what you know now. It borrows from the before and after format.
• The story behind one lesson. Expand a single lesson into a full storytime, then link back to the list.

If a lesson starts with “everyone says…”, it may work better as a myth vs fact slide.

How to adapt it with your own photos

Pair each lesson with a real photo from that time: the half-demolished kitchen, the first prototype, the first order on your table. Old, imperfect photos show you have actually been there, which is the whole premise. Stock photos undercut it.

If you don’t have a photo for a lesson, use a close-up that supports it. Think of the fingerprint-covered handle, the outlet in the wrong place or the empty analytics screen. Keep the text in one place on every slide so viewers can read quickly.

If you have found a “wish I knew” post that fits your niche, TokCloner can rebuild its structure for your business. It keeps the hook, the lesson slides, the takeaway and the CTA, and rewrites them for your business profile. Put your project photos in a media library folder and mention it with @folder in your instructions; library images cost 0 credits.

Slides export as 1080×1920 PNGs that you post yourself, and there is no free plan. Read every lesson before posting and make sure it is one you actually learned. For more first lines, browse the hook library or start from a TikTok slideshow template.