I Tried To Make Something In America.

The gist

1. Domestic suppliers require full upfront deposits, locking capital for 6 to 18 months, while overseas suppliers can ship in 2 months and free up cash 8 times faster.
2. Splitting orders into four quarterly batches of 25% each reduces boom-bust risk and keeps manufacturers on a stable, improvable schedule.
3. When a quality dispute stalled production, third-party lab testing revealed the yarn spinner had skipped two critical chemical treatments, saving the project.
4. Bringing in one experienced operations person can do more to move a stuck project forward than a founder continuing to grind alone.