Although I feel sad for saying this, what I think is sane is: don't compete with the Chinese. Unless you can build an audience of extremely loyal fans. In that

Although I feel sad for saying this, what I think is sane is: don't compete with the Chinese. Unless you can build an audience of extremely loyal fans. In that case, I'd suggest to start pitching your vision for a US-made toaster and sell a refundable pre-purchase (like 10% of the toaster). If you can't attract a large enough fan base, you won't be successful, I'm afraid.