What It Takes to be 'Made in America'

It's a hot selling point, but easier said than done. Here, three founders share what they've learned trying to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.

- LIZ BRODY

Ten years ago, “Made in America” was a niche claim, made mostly by craft-conscious entrepreneurs. But today, Morgan Stanley is hailing it as a $10 trillion opportunity. At a time when even diseases are politicized, most of the country agrees that we erred in outsourcing our manufacturing overseas during the last several decades—a mistake the pandemic shoved in our faces as foreign supply chains crumbled. The Biden administration passed several initiatives to bring production back to these shores, and President Trump has started imposing tariffs and duties on imports to do the same. The momentum is not lost on early-stage investors like Jared Friedman, a general partner at Y Combinator (YC)—the Silicon Valley cultivator of startups like Stripe, Airbnb and DoorDash—who put out a call last fall for founders with ideas to innovate manufacturing in the U.S. “We’ve allowed ourselves to be outcompeted by other countries,” Friedman says. “It’s of paramount importance that we regain the ability to make stuff here.”

In many cases, this means going back to square one. Founders must piece together supply chains, manage those supply chains, and contend with skilled labor shortages and higher wages. It costs more to make things in the U.S., so founders must also convince customers to trust their more expensive product.

“It’s very difficult to build these kinds of companies in America now,” Friedman admits. But YC has funded a few businesses that have hurdled the obstacles. “What I’ve learned is that there is no playbook,” he says. “You don’t have to know any particular thing in order to start. You just need to be willing to jump into the deep end and figure out each problem as it comes up.”

SO HOW DO YOU DO IT?

On the following pages, we take a look inside three very different companies that got it done.