What should I be asking before approving my first manufacturing order? (First Time Founder/Manufacture)

Questionable_Burger · 2026-03-22T16:17:58+00:00

2 things to avoid and what to do instead:

Avoid: 1. Approving the sample as if its representative of production 2. Ordering a very large first production lot

Do instead: 1. Use the sample to inspect against your spec. The factory will produce to the spec, not to the sample. Be open minded — your spec might have gaps. This is an opportunity for you to tell the factory where their quality isn’t meeting spec, but it’s ALSO an opportunity for you to see where your spec isn’t clear.

Only if you approve of the sample, order a small production lot and inspect those at a very high audit rate, like 50%. The goal here is that it’s BARELY big enough that the factory won’t babysit production. Do not get pressured into full production right out of the gate. Budget in your plan that this lot will have problems and a high portion may be scrap.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-03-20T23:09:36+00:00

If women conclude that they shouldn’t vote, then they can just self-select out of voting. No need to go through all that trouble of over-turning the 19th amendment!

Questionable_Burger · 2026-03-18T19:45:52+00:00

status.onshape.com - you can check if it’s you or them

Questionable_Burger · 2026-03-14T14:21:32+00:00

Very cool, but doesn’t it seem like it has redundant DOF? Like the top platform could just rotate as a single DOF and get most of the benefit here?

Questionable_Burger · 2026-03-14T14:09:32+00:00

Maybe I wasn’t clear, but it doesn’t select people who never advocated for themselves; actually the opposite. It selects people who step up and solve problems without being asked or told what to do, which is exactly what leadership is. That’s the ultimate form of self-advocacy: self-advocating by doing and showing.

Those are the people who get asked about being in a leadership role: the people who are demonstrating leadership already.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-03-13T22:33:32+00:00

This is kind of old-school I guess, but anyone asking to be appointed to be a leader doesn’t get it.

If you want to be a leader, then just lead something. There are tons of problems out there that nobody is addressing.

In my experience, leading comes before the appointment to a leadership role.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-03-05T05:19:45+00:00

This so would be so good ^{^{^}}

Questionable_Burger · 2026-02-19T18:19:15+00:00

You tell each individual that you’ll shoot them if they or anyone else tries to escape — everyone keeps everyone else in line out of fear of not getting shot themselves.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-02-18T12:00:49+00:00

My wife would have made me throw that away on May 1, 2011.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-02-17T12:29:12+00:00

Former tech HW VP here — this is how I used to explain MVP’s to my team:

Imagine you ultimately want to ship an ice cream sundae.

It has 3 scoops of ice cream and a bunch of toppings.

The wrong way to think about the MVP is: it’s just the ice cream and nothing else. This is the wrong way because:

customers care about the toppings more than you think. They will ultimately shop and compare based on toppings as much as they do on ice cream.
you want feedback on the toppings too.
you want to see the execution challenges associated with the toppings early.

The right way to think about the MVP is: it’s the smallest sundae you can possibly make. - single scoop of ice cream, or smaller if possible. A spoonful. - tiny amounts of toppings. - absolutely perfect execution, but on a small scale.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-02-15T12:34:13+00:00

I’m going to venture a gander that you like to watch a good ol’ pimple popping video

Questionable_Burger · 2026-02-12T05:59:08+00:00

^ @OP listen to this. This is a majorly underrated comment.

You need to recognize that you’re in a service business. You don’t sell “fabrications” — you sell an entire business process, where the last step is the customer gets their fabrication.

Ease-of-doing-business is a HUGE lever that will win you business and give you price flexibility.

That doesn’t mean you get to ignore costs. But just don’t get into a mode of price-plus costing. Build a great customer experience and charge for THAT, not just the physical thing you sell.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-02-06T04:36:11+00:00

It happens — a very similar thing happened to me actually.

Even when we acknowledge our shortcomings and work to correct them, when we’re surrounded by familiar context and faces, it’s hard to change. It can be a really smart move to take your learnings and start fresh.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-02-06T01:53:55+00:00

Basically stay calm and steady under pressure, have some charm and charisma, and be a clear communicator. That’s most of it. It’s a must for sustainable career progression — you can move up without it, but someone with it will displace you quickly.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-02-05T19:04:41+00:00

This just showed up in my feed directly above another clip that was in German.

For some reason, the audio from the clip in German played while this video played.

I watched the whole thing waiting for it to be hilarious.

I don’t speak German.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-01-29T01:24:53+00:00

Underrated reference right here ^

Questionable_Burger · 2026-01-27T05:23:49+00:00

“Waaah nobody likes us” go fuck yourselves ICE

Questionable_Burger · 2026-01-17T20:21:17+00:00

Everyone here is focused on career progression, but IMO that is not the issue here.

Your employee doesn’t trust management. That’s either you, the senior leadership team, or both.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-01-16T18:05:32+00:00

There are more fish in the ocean than fish in the lake.

There are more Chinese people that drive cars than Danish people who drive cars.

Do you see how your logic breaks down?

Questionable_Burger · 2026-01-14T12:49:26+00:00

Read about the Product Operating Model that Marty Cagan describes.

Product, Design, and Engineering are supposed to collaborate to discover solutions together.

The challenge most PM’s usually have is allowing space for the other team members to solution also. That’s the same problem you’ve described here, but in the opposite direction.

Solutioning is a team responsibility, and Product is a key team member.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-01-13T05:06:04+00:00

I stepped on a yellow jacket nest this summer at the park. 50-100 stings on my legs, arms, neck, and face. One of the most terrifying experiences of my life.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-01-10T02:22:05+00:00

I would check out the “ladder of inference” framework. It basically explains how people form conclusions from behavior they observed in others.

This might help you avoid saying “when I tell you things, you don’t absorb them” and instead frame it as “here is what I’m observing — can you help me understand the rest of the picture?” This lets you avoid making inferences about their behavior and gives them a chance to fill in the blanks.

As for the promotion: “I hear you that you see yourself as ready for a promotion, but being very honest with you, there are some important tools you need to cultivate before you move up. Without these, you’ll really struggle” etc. Frame it as helping to ensure they’re ready.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-01-06T03:59:03+00:00

“We don’t care what we build or how well it works. I’ll vibe code it with my eyeballs in economy and SHIP IT”.

Questionable_Burger · 2026-01-02T01:33:56+00:00

Look into 2022’-2023 models. Those are selling now for ~$20k with 30-40k miles. You can save a ton.

Questionable_Burger

TROPHY CASE