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13
Feb
The risk you cannot see on a Gantt chart
Your factory does not pause for Lunar New Year and resume where it left off. A meaningful share of the
2 min read
10
Feb
The default that ships defects
You can pass every functional test at the factory and still ship a product that falls apart in a week.
2 min read
09
Feb
G08 $0.40 part, $200,000 problem (Yield)
The most dangerous line in hardware is "yield should be fine." Three words. Six figures in dead inventory.
2 min read
06
Feb
G07 This is not a part. It is a lock-in (Tooling)
Most founders treat tooling as a procurement task. It is actually a strategic lock-in. The day you pay for that
2 min read
04
Feb
Two meetings a day
The founder who lost their best supplier pricing did everything right on the factory floor. Then they rushed through lunch.
2 min read
03
Feb
You paid for it. They sold it again.
That compliance package you funded? Your factory is now bundling the same approvals with units they ship to future customers.
2 min read
02
Feb
G06 Production-ready? Prove it (EVT/DVT/PVT)
"We are almost production-ready" is how hardware founders lose credibility with experienced investors. Burned investors ask one question:
2 min read
30
Jan
G05 One line in your BOM is sabotaging you (Lead Time)
Your product is not late because of the factory. It is late because you ordered components like you were buying
2 min read
29
Jan
Loyalty is not a sourcing strategy
The supplier who saved your product launch three years ago might sink your next one. Loyalty feels good. Ignoring the
2 min read
28
Jan
Break your product before your customers do (HALT/HASS)
Factories love gentle testing. It keeps yields high, paperwork clean, and hides design flaws until your customers find them for
2 min read