10 guides
Founder guides
Practical guides to making a physical product: finding a manufacturer, MOQs, tech packs, sampling, landed cost and starting a clothing brand. From operators who have shipped containers.
Start a brand2 guides
Start a brand
Start a brandHow to start a clothing brandThe order of the steps matters more than any single tip. Here is the sequence we use to take a clothing brand from an idea to a first production run that sells.Oren John · 10 minStart a brandPrivate label vs white label: what is the difference?Both put your brand on a product someone else makes. The difference is who else is selling the same thing, and how much of it is yours.Colin Landforce · 6 min
Find a factory2 guides
Find a factory
Find a factoryHow to find a manufacturer for your productFinding names is the easy half. Here is how we find factories that already make products like yours, how we check they are real, and the other routes worth your time.Colin Landforce · 10 minFind a factoryIs Alibaba legit? How to vet suppliers and pay safelyAlibaba is a real marketplace that real brands source from. The question is never whether Alibaba is legit. It is whether this supplier is.Oren John · 7 min
Develop the product4 guides
Develop the product
Develop the productThe product development process, stage by stageProduct development is a set of decisions made in order. Each stage produces a document the next one needs. Skip one and the factory fills the gap for you.Oren John · 9 minDevelop the productWhat is a tech pack? A plain-English guideA tech pack is the instruction manual for your product. It is what lets two factories quote the same thing and lets bulk match the sample.Oren John · 6 minDevelop the productFree tech pack template (with a filled example)Every sheet a factory needs, what to write in each field, and a filled example. Download it as a spreadsheet, no email required.Oren John · 9 minDevelop the productProduct samples: how to sample with a manufacturerSamples are decision tools, not souvenirs. Each one should answer a question, get scored against the brief and move you one step closer to a standard bulk has to match.Oren John · 7 min
Costs and terms2 guides
Costs and terms
Costs and termsWhat is MOQ? Minimum order quantity explainedMOQ is the smallest order a supplier will take. The number on the listing is the start of the conversation, and it often hides two or three other minimums.Colin Landforce · 6 minCosts and termsHow to calculate landed cost (with a worked example)The unit price in a factory quote is a starting input, not your cost. Landed cost is the number your margin, your price and your reorder decisions should come from.Colin Landforce · 7 min
Product Sourcing Secrets$899 one-time
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Product Sourcing Secrets walks one product from idea to an approved production order: the brief, the RFQ, sampling, landed cost, the PO and inspection. It comes with The Vault, our researched list of 300+ factories with contact notes, and a database of 100+ tech pack designers.
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