Roman Zrazhevskiy is a survivalist of a kind. His firm, Mira Security, sells protecting gear for seemingly existential occasions resembling nuclear assaults or chemical warfare. He calls the specter of such occasions “purple alerts,” when geopolitical crises immediate concern into shoppers.

Zrazhevskiy first appeared on this podcast in 2021. In our latest dialog, he shared the evolution of Mira Security, staffing methods, development plans, and extra.

Our whole audio is embedded under. The transcript is edited for readability and size.

Eric Bandholz: Give us a rundown of your corporation.

Roman Zrazhevskiy: I personal Mira Security. We deal with safety from chemical, organic, radiological, and nuclear threats. We promote on to shoppers by way of ecommerce, providing merchandise like gasoline masks and hazmat fits. We additionally promote to authorities businesses and wholesale clients.

We launched Mira Security in 2018, however I’ve been within the business since 2013 with Able to Go Survival, promoting respirators with out a variety of preliminary success. Then the Ebola scare occurred in 2015. We name such occasions “purple alerts,” geopolitical points that lead folks 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 a large uptick in demand. Extra not too long ago, the Ukraine struggle in 2022 was our greatest purple alert. Many thought the battle may increase past Ukraine, probably resulting in a large-scale struggle between the East and West. Fortunately, that didn’t occur, however it sparked a wave of purchases.

Apparently, as these occasions occur, folks turn into a bit of extra jaded. There’s a way that every purple alert doesn’t fairly provoke the identical concern as earlier than. But when one thing catastrophic occurred, like Russia attacking Poland, we’d probably see one other large spike in demand.

Bandholz: Your corporation 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 obligatory service. We’re serving to folks put together for the unimaginable, and I’m pleased with that.

Bandholz: How do you handle between purple 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 not less than one yr’s working funds. Even when gross sales drop or a purple alert doesn’t happen for some time, we will 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 below as a result of they borrowed an excessive amount of and couldn’t get well when issues didn’t go as deliberate. I favor gradual, regular, bootstrapped development.

Bandholz: You’ve invested closely into your bodily office.

Zrazhevskiy: A robust firm tradition is necessary to us. We would like 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 purple mild remedy, are a part of our wellness philosophy.

When workers really feel good, they carry out higher. If our crew is blissful, wholesome, and enjoys being right here, they’ll probably be extra productive and keep longer. Plus, I get pleasure from these items, and I need 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 a scarcity of protecting gear for them. We’re one of some firms 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 large 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 difficult, particularly in a enterprise like this. I’m additionally nonetheless studying, particularly about manufacturing and management. There’s at all times 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.