I had the somewhat daunting experience of spending two months, on my own, in industrial China. These were probably the two most intense months of my life. I visited a number of factories in DongGuan province and set up a production line with our manufacturing partner in ChangPing. I learned so much about manufacturing in that region and the Chinese mentality to production. I also immersed myself in the political, social and economic issues that have dramatically changed the landscape there over the last 40 years. China is a fascinating place, far removed from the world I was familiar with. Beyond manufacturing I tried to find out as much as I could about the people, their lives, what motivated them and their views on the world.

I dealt mostly with the back end of the supply chain, and as ‘the customer’ I was often treated well by account managers trying to build good relationships. It was a steep learning curve and I quickly realised how important it was to keep on top of our suppliers in order to get faster and better results. I am very glad I visited as frequently as possible to save time and to address issues before assumptions were made. With the front end of the supply chain – the distributors and the retailers – we discovered the dangers of accepting what was said at face value. As a business mantra, it is always best to under-promise and over-deliver and we learned the hard way!

My experience taught me that a friendly level of management encourages teamwork and innovation, but respect is essential for delivery. I achieved productive results by finding out what motivates people and what tasks best suit their working style or strengths, and adapting the workload accordingly. People generally respond better to being led than being pushed.

I was trained as an engineer, but when running a business you have to put on many more hats. I received a crash course in marketing strategy, business plan writing, accounting, cash flow management, fundraising and grants, import/export bureaucracy, intellectual property and other legal and financial issues: all of this while doing my main role of product development and manufacturing. I was fortunate enough to have access to a range of advisers and workshops which accelerated and guided my learning. Multi-disciplined multi-tasking became an essential skill, as well as careful time management.

Whilst trying to develop solutions to either mechanical design problems or business strategy I found that innovation just cannot be forced. Unproductive days in the office are inevitable. Ideas come naturally when inspired and I found the best way to encourage this was by bouncing ideas around, seeking advice, discussing the topic – and then sleeping on it. The discussions the next day were always much more fruitful.

We were able to take advantage of the recession, and the resulting bleak grad job scene, and employ some of the best talent coming out the universities at a rediculously cheap price. Young graduates are much more driven by interesting work with exciting prospects than money – but everyone still has their motivating price.

Not all of our employees worked out. In a small start up company broad skills sets are as valuable as concentrated ones, and internal communication is key. It is essential that all personalities within a team like this click, and the wrong ones can be toxic. I was unfortunate enough to get a lot of tutoring in employment law as an outcome to this delicate subject.

Iterations! By creating a range of prototypes I was able to fine tune ideas and physically interact and test designs as they evolved. Unfortunately there is a relatively high cost associated with 3D printed prototypes, but this process saved me thousands of pounds by not having to make mould tool modifications. These prototypes were also extremely useful for demonstrating, explaining and selling the concepts.