Roman Zrazhevskiy is a survivalist in his own way. His company, Mira Safety, sells protective gear for seemingly existential events like nuclear attacks or chemical warfare. He calls the threat of such events a “red alert” when geopolitical crises cause fear among consumers.
Zrazhevskiy first appeared on this podcast in 2021. In our recent interview, he shared Mira Safety’s development, staffing strategies, growth plans and more.
Our full audio is embedded below. Transcript edited for clarity and length.
Eric Bandholz: Give us an overview of your business.
Roman Zrazhevskiy: I own Mira Safety. We focus on protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks. We sell direct to consumers via e-commerce and offer products such as gas masks and protective suits. We also sell to government agencies and wholesale customers.
We launched Mira Safety in 2018, but I’ve been in business with Ready to Go Survival since 2013, selling respirators without much initial success. Then in 2015, the Ebola scare happened. We call such events “red alerts,” geopolitical issues that lead people to buy emergency equipment. Another example was 2017, when tensions rose between Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. This resulted in a $50,000 increase in sales in just one week.
A red alert creates a massive surge in demand. Recently, our biggest red alert was the war in Ukraine in 2022. Many thought that the conflict could spread beyond Ukraine, leading to a full-scale war between East and West. Fortunately, this did not happen, but it did trigger a wave of purchases.
Interestingly, as these events happen, people are a bit more tired. There is a sense that each red alert does not evoke quite the same fear as before. But if something catastrophic were to happen, like Russia attacking Poland, we would probably see another massive increase in demand.
Bandholz: Your business thrives when the world is in crisis. how do you cope with it?
Zrazhevsky: I don’t mess with it. We provide life saving products. Our mission is to protect people, not harm them. We are more of an insurance provider. It is an essential service. We’re helping people prepare for the unimaginable, and I’m proud of that.
Bandholz: How do you manage between red alerts?
Zrazhevsky: We keep things lean, avoid overspending and keep reserves in case of a downturn. My rule is to allocate at least one year’s operating funds. Even if sales don’t drop for a period of time or a red alert appears, we can still do business without drastic cuts.
I am conservative when it comes to debt. We don’t like to borrow money and only take risks with inventory and product launches. Our only significant debt is the mortgage on our headquarters building and we plan to pay it off early.
Excessive leverage can destroy a business, so I avoid it. I’ve seen many entrepreneurs fail because they borrowed too much and couldn’t recover when things didn’t go as planned. I prefer slow, steady and limited growth.
Bandholz: You have invested a lot in your physical workplace.
Zrazhevsky: A strong company culture is important to all of us. We want people to work in the same building. Working remotely has its advantages, but we have had problems with it. So we decided to have most of our team in one place. Facilities such as saunas and red light therapy are part of our wellness philosophy.
When employees feel good, they perform better. If our team is happy, healthy and enjoying themselves here, they are likely to be more productive and stay longer. Plus, I enjoy these things and want to share them with my team.
Bandholz: What are your long-term goals for the business?
Zrazhevsky: Our mission is to protect people from the worst threats. This is what drives us. We are releasing other products, especially for children. They lack protective equipment. We are one of the few companies offering children’s respirators. We provide protection for everyday families.
We also import respirator kits to the US. This is our next big step. We have already ordered the machines and as soon as we start assembling here, we will apply for certification by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Protection. This will open the door to more government contracts and allow us to sell to private companies that require NIOSH rated products.
Planning for five years is hard, especially in a business like this. I am also still learning, especially about production and management. There is always room for improvement.
Bandholz: Where can people buy your products?
Zrazhevsky: Our site is MiraSafety.com. We are on X, Instagram and YouTube.