First, two disclaimers. I'm an advisor to Highway1, and my only firsthand manufacturing experience is with a relatively straightforward boardgame, produced stateside (because after investigating overseas manufacturing I decided it was more complex than I could manage without help).
I don't think this is a very accurate assessment of the problems facing startups. Most of the problems you pose can be solved in a few conversations with a good lawyer or experienced operator. If you want protection from patents, you're likely going to be talking to the kind of folks who sell protection, like Intellectual Ventures; they'll be happy to take your money. There are companies that specialize in managing certifications, listings, etc. These are problems you can solve with a few phone calls and a check.
There is, however, a do-or-die problem for most startups: it is extraordinarily hard to create a strong working relationship with a great factory.
First, you have to find a great factory. That requires a lot of experience and a great deal of touring, QA, reference checking, and so on. And while the good ones are great partners, the bad ones are working very hard to deceive you in to thinking they're good. But the worst part is that most of the best factories will have nothing to do with you because you're too small. You don't have the volume to be interesting yet, they are concerned you'll go out of business, your team may not be experienced and so you'll make mistakes that they'll need to correct, etc.
Second, you need to create a great relationship with them. That means at least one person living there full-time. And that person needs to have expertise in manufacturing, QA, and so on. That person needs to feel great about their role over a very long period of time, and not everyone who moves to a new country finds it to their liking.
Third, you need to figure out a logistics supply chain. A good friend, having solved both the previous problems, nearly bankrupted his company when the shipping service used the wrong kind of pen and the address rubbed off all the labels. The return fees alone were more than the total profit on the product.
Companies like Apple rely on experts like PCH to do this for them. I believe most startups benefit from it too.
Also: PCH/Highway1 is willing and well equipped to help with most of the rest of the problems you list as well.
You may or may not find Highway1 to be a good fit for your needs but unless you're very experienced in overseas manufacturing and/or doing something truly trivial, I believe you'll have more challenges with manufacturing than you suspect.
I imagine it is quite easy by way of a few calls here and there when you know just who to call. For both regulations and for factories. Its always easy when you know who to call.
Just sayin, do both, and perhaps emphasize both. I knew just who to call to get my parts built and imported, I had no idea who to call to get permission to actually sell them. The part you don't know is always the hard part. Me, I didn't even know what I didn't know. I still mostly feel like I don't.
I guess since I already knew a guy and he just hooked me up with a small run manufacturer, I thought that it was that easy for everyone.
Dan, what's your view on your competitor circuithub, and specifically their shared part purchase(which can offer small companies volume discounts of big companies), and their own for all model?
I don't think this is a very accurate assessment of the problems facing startups. Most of the problems you pose can be solved in a few conversations with a good lawyer or experienced operator. If you want protection from patents, you're likely going to be talking to the kind of folks who sell protection, like Intellectual Ventures; they'll be happy to take your money. There are companies that specialize in managing certifications, listings, etc. These are problems you can solve with a few phone calls and a check.
There is, however, a do-or-die problem for most startups: it is extraordinarily hard to create a strong working relationship with a great factory.
First, you have to find a great factory. That requires a lot of experience and a great deal of touring, QA, reference checking, and so on. And while the good ones are great partners, the bad ones are working very hard to deceive you in to thinking they're good. But the worst part is that most of the best factories will have nothing to do with you because you're too small. You don't have the volume to be interesting yet, they are concerned you'll go out of business, your team may not be experienced and so you'll make mistakes that they'll need to correct, etc.
Second, you need to create a great relationship with them. That means at least one person living there full-time. And that person needs to have expertise in manufacturing, QA, and so on. That person needs to feel great about their role over a very long period of time, and not everyone who moves to a new country finds it to their liking.
Third, you need to figure out a logistics supply chain. A good friend, having solved both the previous problems, nearly bankrupted his company when the shipping service used the wrong kind of pen and the address rubbed off all the labels. The return fees alone were more than the total profit on the product.
Companies like Apple rely on experts like PCH to do this for them. I believe most startups benefit from it too.
Also: PCH/Highway1 is willing and well equipped to help with most of the rest of the problems you list as well.
You may or may not find Highway1 to be a good fit for your needs but unless you're very experienced in overseas manufacturing and/or doing something truly trivial, I believe you'll have more challenges with manufacturing than you suspect.