Indeed, it was a fascinating article. I've read similar things from the guys at Dangerous Prototypes who shipped out there to prototype products; plenty of blog posts where they come back with a suitcase full of tactile switches or find out the best way to print onto heatshrink. Always carry a calculator seemed to be the main takeaway.

And then I read the bio and read "I bought a factory" and "For my second factory". It sounds like it's a fairly straightforward deal to do that in China (if you have the cash). I'd also be really interested to see what kind of hoops you have to go through, the regulatory process, hiring/maintenance and so on. And of course how much does it cost?

Straight forward is way way off the track. When doing business in China it's more like hunting in the jungle. There are some people better suited for the jungle than for the well structured city life, though. And because these are only a few, they have a relatively easy life in China. Don't take that as a hint that everybody can go there and buy factories like Pokemon trading cards. Even big, successful companies are constantly failing in China.

I would also love to find that information out. I want to start a simple manufacturing business as I know there is a big market for the product in my home country. But I would be worried about not speaking the language and all the special loops you might have to jump through, such as playing of all the locals.