Made in China Podcast: International Business | Crowdfunding | Entrepreneurship · Rico & ChinaMike - Product Development Consultants

EP 251 - What Is Up With Rico

·38 min·2 clips

Launching Discord took “quite a bit of time” and resources, almost like starting a new business.

1. Made in China Podcast: International Business | Crowdfunding | Entrepreneurship EP 251 is Rico’s year-end review for SourceFindAsia and his work in China-focused sourcing. 2. Rico appears as CEO of SourceFindAsia, co-host of a main channel podcast, and host of the SourceFindAsia YouTube channel, and he references Tony Baker merch during the recording. 3. The episode asks what the company changed in 2022, what worked, and how SourceFindAsia plans to target clients in 2023. 4. Rico says 2020 COVID conversations included whether to “let go of people” or “reduce hours” as the company tried to survive. 5. He says the PPE craze gave SourceFindAsia enough revenue in “three to four months” to sustain the business for “a year plus.” 6. He says last year’s normal business was more positive, but the market changed in “a permanent way.” 7. He says marketing goals were only partly met because the team launched Discord and added new partners into the business. 8. He says one personal goal was hiring an executive assistant in October, which helped him handle “a thousand emails” after Chinese New Year. 9. He says the assistant also handled personal tasks like finding a repair person for his condo in Hong Kong. 10. He says SourceFindAsia has mainly targeted startups and small to medium-sized businesses wanting original design product, while OEM work is easier because it is more like white-label purchasing. 11. He says the company now wants medium-to-large companies with established supply chains, because those accounts can create more sustainable growth. 12. He gives Walmart as an example, saying even a small order can mean a “five figure profit margin” for an agent. 13. He says the business began planning this pivot “two, three years ago” and has been changing pricing and positioning step by step. 14. He says business growth makes a company more corporate, with more meetings and reviews, which slows execution but adds needed structure. 15. He says Alan Scanlon has been a long-time friend of the show and is becoming a partner in SourceFindAsia. 16. He says the sales operation is expanding toward four people, with separate roles for outreach, inbound leads, and sales calls. 17. Rico’s Q&A answers describe Chinese New Year in China as a month-long shutdown that can make cities feel like “a ghost town.” 18. He says a QMS setup can take six months to a year, while an OEM project can take one to two months and a full takeover has happened in under a month. 19. The episode sounds casual, conversational, and reflective, with long monologues followed by Discord AMA answers. 20. People interested in sourcing, China operations, and business planning would likely like this episode, while listeners wanting tightly edited interviews may skip it.

As heard by us

A casual founder check-in that treats entrepreneurship as pressure, not branding.

Rico's year-end review feels most alive when it stops trying to sound polished and just talks straight about SourceFindAsia, the past couple of months, and the goals he keeps measuring against.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want a reflective company update with a human look at entrepreneurship pressure?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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