The person you hire before you spend $100,000 on your first order.
Your first production run, costed, sized and sourced properly, so the budget buys a business rather than a lesson.
- You have a product, a budget between roughly AUD $20,000 and $150,000, and no supply chain experience.
- You have quotes but no way to judge whether they are reasonable.
- You are being asked for a 500-unit minimum and do not know whether to accept it.
- You want to launch this year rather than research for another one.
- You have not decided what the product is. Prox works on commercial decisions, not concept development.
- Your budget for stock is under about AUD $10,000; start with the calculator and an article.
Where the money leaks.
The first order is where most of the money and nearly all of the risk sits. Founders arrive with a design, a rough retail price and a supplier who is friendly on WhatsApp. What is usually missing is the arithmetic: what the unit will cost landed in Australia, what margin that leaves after freight and duty and GST, how many units the budget can buy without going bare on the winners.
The steps, in order.
Set the commercial frame. Target retail price, target landed cost, target margin, budget and timeline.
Cost it properly. Factory price, freight, duty, GST treatment, sampling and inspection, into a landed cost per unit in AUD.
Size the first buy. Style count, colour count, size curve and units, with a test-and-scale split.
Choose the sourcing route. Which country, which factory type, what MOQ is achievable at your budget.
Plan the calendar. Sampling, approvals, production, shipping, landing and launch, working back from on-sale date.
Name the risks. The three things most likely to go wrong for your product, and the cheapest way to protect each.
- A landed cost model for your first range, in AUD
- A first-buy quantity plan by style, colour and size
- A cash flow view across deposit, balance, freight and landing
- A sourcing route recommendation with country and factory type
- A critical path calendar to your launch date
- Three sessions over four weeks, recorded, with notes
- A 30-day email window afterwards
SKUs launched from zero in 18 months at Rushush
The First Run Sprint, AUD $2,400 inc GST. Three sessions across four weeks, plus the costing model and the buy plan. If you only need one conversation, take the Margin Check at AUD $690 inc GST.
Answered plainly.
No, that is the ideal time. Choosing a factory before you know your target landed cost is how founders end up committed to a price that cannot work.
The Sprint recommends the country and factory type and reviews any quotes you already hold. A full vetted shortlist with quotes is the Supplier Search at AUD $3,900 inc GST.
Then the plan will be narrow and deep: fewer styles, sensible MOQs, and a first buy structured as a test. That is a better use of $20,000 than eight styles at 100 units each.
No. There is no curriculum and no recorded module. It is three working sessions on your product, your numbers and your budget.