By developing and owning the exact specifications for their fabrics—from the yarn to the finish—Faherty can move production between different manufacturers. This de-risks their supply chain from tariffs and geopolitical issues, as the "makers become less important."

Instead of discounting old inventory, Larroudé offers a pre-order discount on new collections, similar to an early-bird airline ticket. This "direct-to-demand" model incentivizes customers to commit early, which funds production, eliminates excess inventory risk, and improves the brand's cash flow and profitability.

After a costly mistake left him with thousands of extra units, Solgaard's founder learned a key inventory lesson. He advises founders to avoid overly optimistic forecasting and go lean on inventory. Being slightly back-ordered is a better financial position than being overstocked with capital tied up in unsold goods.

By eliminating seasonal colors to focus only on her bestseller—black—handbag brand Sonya Lee could place larger bulk leather orders. This allowed her to bypass wholesalers and source directly from a premium tannery, dramatically improving margins, ensuring material traceability, and making capital more efficient.

For D2C fashion brands, the inability of third-party suppliers to quickly fulfill reorders on trending products is a key trigger for vertical integration. Larroudé's co-founder realized the cost of one large factory order was equivalent to buying the machinery himself, enabling them to meet demand in weeks, not months.

Comfort strategically adjusts prices based on stock availability, not just demand. For fast-selling items, they increase the price to slow sales velocity, ensuring they stay in stock longer and avoid disappointing customers. This prioritizes long-term stability over short-term sales volume.

To avoid the operational chaos of viral success, Shelter Skin deliberately caps production to match what they can manufacture and ship themselves. This prevents them from overselling and allows for sustainable, bootstrapped growth, even if it means frustrating some customers with temporary stockouts.

To minimize risk, the founder initially ordered small quantities of custom packaging, resulting in a high cost of $6.31 per box. In hindsight, she advises founders to "bet on themselves" by ordering larger quantities to significantly lower cost of goods, even if it ties up capital longer.

During post-COVID supply chain disruptions, Simple Mills viewed the chaos as an opportunity. While competitors struggled with an 80% fill rate for retailer orders, Simple Mills invested to maintain 96%. This reliability built immense retailer trust and ensured their product was always on the shelf, allowing them to capture competitor market share.