Lara GuevaraSupply Chain expert (Product and Service)

Founders don't know their cost of products!

11 Feb 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:24

In this short monologue, the speaker recounts a real‑world example of a founder, Sarah, who believed her product cost $12 per unit based solely on the supplier invoice. The speaker breaks down the hidden expenses that push the true landed cost to $19.40 per unit: ocean freight and duties ($1.80), storage ($0.60 per month for four months), pick‑and‑pack ($2.50 per order), packaging materials ($0.90), and payment processing fees ($1.60). Multiplying the $7.40 cost gap by Sarah’s annual volume of 6,400 units reveals a $47,000 margin shortfall. The speaker argues that many founders make pricing, promotion, and inventory decisions on incomplete cost data, leading to systematic under‑pricing. The video ends with a call to action, inviting viewers to comment for a personalized cost audit similar to the one provided to Sarah.

Chapters

A founder came to me convinced her product cost $12. It actually cost 19.4. The gap was eating 47k a year. She wasn't bad at math. She just didn't know what to count. And I see this constantly. Founders who think they know their product cost, but they're missing half of it. Here's what Sarah was counting. What she paid her supplier that said $12 per unit. And here's what she's missing. Getting it to her warehouse is 1.8 per unit in Ocean Freight and Duties storing it is $0.6 per unit per month. And she had four months of inventory sitting there picking and packing it. 2.5 per order. The box, the tissue paper, the insert, it's 0.$9. Payment processing when the customer paid 1.6, adding up 19.4, not 12. She was pricing based on 12. She was running promotions based on 12. She was making inventory decisions based on $12. Every decision was wrong because the number was wrong. The 7.4 gap times 6400 units a year. 47k in margin. She thought she had, but didn't. Take the hero product. Add up every cost between your supplier's invoice and cash in your bank. I bet you're missing something. Comment, Sarah, and I'll send you the same cost audit I sent her.