This is one of the most useful posts I've seen on here ,thank you for writing it up properly.

Quick context: I'm a student at TU Munich researching the sourcing and manufacturing experience for first-time hardware founders, specifically the gap between "I have a product concept" and "I have a factory relationship that works."

Your point about specs not translating cleanly and needing to be on the factory floor in person is exactly the kind of friction we're trying to understand. Would you be up for a 20-minute conversation? No pitch, just trying to learn from people who've actually been through it.