Roman Zrazhevskiy is a survivalist of a kind. His firm, Mira Security, sells protecting gear for seemingly existential occasions reminiscent of nuclear assaults or chemical warfare. He calls the specter of such occasions “purple alerts,” when geopolitical crises immediate worry into customers.
Zrazhevskiy first appeared on this podcast in 2021. In our current dialog, he shared the evolution of Mira Security, staffing methods, progress plans, and extra.
Our complete audio is embedded beneath. The transcript is edited for readability and size.
Eric Bandholz: Give us a rundown of your small business.
Roman Zrazhevskiy: I personal Mira Security. We concentrate on safety from chemical, organic, radiological, and nuclear assaults. We promote on to customers by way of ecommerce, providing merchandise like fuel masks and hazmat fits. We additionally promote to authorities businesses and wholesale prospects.
We launched Mira Security in 2018, however I’ve been within the trade since 2013 with Able to Go Survival, promoting respirators with out a whole lot of preliminary success. Then the Ebola scare occurred in 2015. We name such occasions “purple alerts,” geopolitical points that lead individuals to purchase emergency gear. One other instance was in 2017 when tensions arose between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un of North Korea. That led to a surge of $50,000 in gross sales in only one week.
A purple alert creates an enormous uptick in demand. Extra lately, the Ukraine struggle in 2022 was our largest purple alert. Many thought the battle would possibly increase past Ukraine, probably resulting in a large-scale struggle between the East and West. Fortunately, that didn’t occur, but it surely sparked a wave of purchases.
Curiously, as these occasions occur, individuals grow to be just a little extra jaded. There’s a way that every purple alert doesn’t fairly provoke the identical worry as earlier than. But when one thing catastrophic occurred, like Russia attacking Poland, we’d doubtless see one other huge spike in demand.
Bandholz: Your corporation thrives when the world is in disaster. How do you deal with that?
Zrazhevskiy: I don’t wrestle with it. We offer life-saving merchandise. Our mission is to guard individuals, not damage them. We’re extra like an insurance coverage supplier. It’s a mandatory service. We’re serving to individuals put together for the unimaginable, and I’m pleased with that.
Bandholz: How do you handle between purple alerts?
Zrazhevskiy: We hold issues lean, keep away from extreme spending, and hold reserves in case of a downturn. My rule is to put aside no less than one 12 months’s working funds. Even when gross sales drop or a purple alert doesn’t happen for some time, we are able to nonetheless run the enterprise with out making drastic cuts.
I’m conservative with regards to debt. We don’t like borrowing cash and take dangers solely with stock and product launches. Our solely important debt is the mortgage on our headquarters constructing, and we plan to pay it off early.
Extra leverage can destroy a enterprise, so I keep away from it. I’ve seen many entrepreneurs go underneath as a result of they borrowed an excessive amount of and couldn’t get well when issues didn’t go as deliberate. I want gradual, regular, bootstrapped progress.
Bandholz: You’ve invested closely into your bodily office.
Zrazhevskiy: A robust firm tradition is necessary to us. We wish individuals to work in the identical constructing. Distant work has its benefits, however we’ve had points with it. So, we determined to have most of our workforce in a single location. The facilities, like saunas and purple mild remedy, are a part of our wellness philosophy.
When staff really feel good, they carry out higher. If our workforce is joyful, wholesome, and enjoys being right here, they’ll doubtless be extra productive and keep longer. Plus, I get pleasure from this stuff, and I wish to share that with my workforce.
Bandholz: What are your long-term objectives for the enterprise?
Zrazhevskiy: Our mission is to guard individuals from the worst threats. That’s what drives us. We’re releasing extra merchandise, particularly for youngsters. There’s a scarcity of protecting gear for them. We’re one of some corporations providing kids’s respirators. We offer safety for on a regular basis households.
We’re additionally bringing a respirator meeting to the U.S. That’s our subsequent huge transfer. We’ve already ordered the machines, and as soon as we begin assembling right here, we’ll apply for the certification from the Nationwide Institute for Occupational Security and Well being. That can open doorways to extra authorities contracts and permit us to promote to personal corporations that require NIOSH-rated merchandise.
Planning for 5 years is tough, particularly in a enterprise like this. I’m additionally nonetheless studying, particularly about manufacturing and management. There’s all the time room for enchancment.
Bandholz: The place can individuals purchase your merchandise?
Zrazhevskiy: Our web site is MiraSafety.com. We’re on X, Instagram, and YouTube.
