Roman Zrazhevskiy is a survivalist of a form. His firm, Mira Security, sells protecting gear for seemingly existential occasions resembling nuclear assaults or chemical warfare. He calls the specter of such occasions “crimson alerts,” when geopolitical crises immediate worry into customers.
Zrazhevskiy first appeared on this podcast in 2021. In our latest dialog, he shared the evolution of Mira Security, staffing methods, progress plans, and extra.
Our total audio is embedded beneath. The transcript is edited for readability and size.
Eric Bandholz: Give us a rundown of what you are promoting.
Roman Zrazhevskiy: I personal Mira Security. We give attention to safety from chemical, organic, radiological, and nuclear assaults. We promote on to customers by ecommerce, providing merchandise like gasoline masks and hazmat fits. We additionally promote to authorities companies 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 plenty of preliminary success. Then the Ebola scare occurred in 2015. We name such occasions “crimson alerts,” geopolitical points that lead folks to purchase emergency tools. 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 crimson alert creates a large uptick in demand. Extra lately, the Ukraine conflict in 2022 was our largest crimson alert. Many thought the battle may develop past Ukraine, presumably resulting in a large-scale conflict between the East and West. Fortunately, that didn’t occur, but it surely sparked a wave of purchases.
Curiously, as these occasions occur, folks grow to be a bit of extra jaded. There’s a way that every crimson alert doesn’t fairly provoke the identical worry as earlier than. But when one thing catastrophic occurred, like Russia attacking Poland, we’d possible see one other huge spike in demand.
Bandholz: What you are promoting thrives when the world is in disaster. How do you address that?
Zrazhevskiy: I don’t wrestle with it. We offer life-saving merchandise. Our mission is to defend folks, not damage them. We’re extra like an insurance coverage supplier. It’s a essential service. We’re serving to folks put together for the unimaginable, and I’m pleased with that.
Bandholz: How do you handle between crimson alerts?
Zrazhevskiy: We preserve issues lean, keep away from extreme spending, and preserve reserves in case of a downturn. My rule is to put aside a minimum of one yr’s working funds. Even when gross sales drop or a crimson alert doesn’t happen for some time, we are able to nonetheless run the enterprise with out making drastic cuts.
I’m conservative on the subject of 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 powerful firm tradition is necessary to us. We wish folks 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 crew in a single location. The facilities, like saunas and crimson gentle remedy, are a part of our wellness philosophy.
When staff really feel good, they carry out higher. If our crew is joyful, wholesome, and enjoys being right here, they’ll possible be extra productive and keep longer. Plus, I take pleasure in these items, and I wish to share that with my crew.
Bandholz: What are your long-term targets for the enterprise?
Zrazhevskiy: Our mission is to guard folks from the worst threats. That’s what drives us. We’re releasing extra merchandise, particularly for kids. There’s an absence of protecting tools for them. We’re one of some firms providing youngsters’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 may open doorways to extra authorities contracts and permit us to promote to personal firms 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 folks purchase your merchandise?
Zrazhevskiy: Our web site is MiraSafety.com. We’re on X, Instagram, and YouTube.