Creating a Woman-Owned Marketplace with Krissy Mashinsky

Krissy Mashinsky is the CEO and Founder of usastrong.IO, an all-digital, e-commerce platform that highlights and promotes USA-made products and allows the growth of small businesses. She discovered this need after working within the fashion industry and working on her own products. The difficulty in creating and tracking her own supply chain, sparked the idea for her own platform. In comes, usastrong.IO, a woman-owned digital marketplace that informs the consumer of the step-by-step process each product takes before it lands on your doorstep.

As a queen within the fashion industry, Krissy was skilled at making decisions that resulted in the fashion of today. With the onset of COVID-19 and the breakdown of the supply chain, Krissy saw a huge gap in consumer production that needed to be filled. As people are becoming more conscious of the products they purchase and who/what those products impact, usastrong.IO offers answers to those questions by pulling back the curtain and letting people see the process from beginning to the endpoint. 

Here's what you'll learn:

• How Krissy went from a leader in the fashion industry to becoming a mastermind of e-commerce. 
• Laura Lee and Krissy explore the details of a product that consumers care about. 
• Krissy shares how she grew her business organically and through social media, email, and sms. 
• What does it mean to take on a giant like Jeff Bezos?
• Krissy explains the block chain code. 

For more information about usastrong.IO, check out the website here.

Follow Krissy on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. 

Interested in learning more about this show? Go back to the homepage.

Check out our skincare line: Apollo & Artemis.

Instagram: @lauraleebotsacos

Transcript

Laura Lee Botsacos  0:02  

Hi everyone, I'm Laura Lee Botsacos  founder and CO creator of Apollo and Artemis Beauty by Equality. And you are listening to the business serum podcast where I'll bring you stories of people who have impacted the world through their unique business experiences, and how they have utilized their past and excavated their own life story to master the art of the ever changing sales strategy, beginning with themselves, because if you can close yourself on you, you can close yourself on anyone. I am your host, Laura Lee Botsacos, and today, I can't believe this, we will be talking with Krissy Mashinsky. Hi, Krissy, how are you?

Krissy Mashinsky  0:42  

Hi. You know, it's so funny because so many people have a hard time saying my last name. And so I always say it's like MASH, like mashed potatoes in Sky. Isn't that so funny?

Laura Lee Botsacos  0:55  

I'm so sorry.

Krissy Mashinsky  0:57  

I love it. I love saying that story. I always say even with my kids as I was teaching, you know, I have six kids. And that's unbelievable.

Laura Lee Botsacos  1:04  

But no, it's actually funny that you said that because I'm going through your bio, right? And I'm reading everything. And obviously I know some of you know, I know some of your children. And I'm like, wait a second, there's six. She has six, you've got a small tribe. How are you sane and rational?

Krissy Mashinsky  1:21  

I don't know.  I just saw one of them peak over here. I call my husband, my oldest child. So really, I have seven. 

Laura Lee Botsacos  1:29  

And you look amazing. 

Krissy Mashinsky  1:31  

my gosh, thank you. Thank you. Well, I'm so happy to be here, Laura. I just adore everything you do and everything you represent and knowing that we met through, you know, your it's your niece, and my daughter is just such a wonderful story. And that's really what our site, you know, USAstrong.io is about. It's about community. It's about families coming together and reconnecting with neighborhoods.

Laura Lee Botsacos  1:58  

Yeah, and thank you. I agree. And I really, I really feel very honored that you agreed to do this, you know, because I know that you're a very, very busy woman, I know that you have a lot going on. So we genuinely appreciate that. And honestly, I need to talk to you about USA strong, because I think it's so wonderful. First of all, it's an incredible platform. So do you want to talk to the audience a little bit about what it is? And then maybe you can tell us? Why did you start USA strong?

Krissy Mashinsky  2:22  

Sure. And thank you for asking. Yeah, so USA, strong IO was started really, to bring to light USA made products. And when I first started, I was starting my own brand. And it was really difficult to find a way to make products here locally in New York City. And I couldn't find, you know, actual people that made things here, you know, trying to find the fabric, trying to find manufacturing. And every time I went and thought, Ah, I can actually make this here locally, it was like, Well, you know, we're going to send the bits and pieces out to maybe a different country. And I was like, No, I really want the whole thing made here. And I didn't realize how difficult that was to do. And through that process, I really decided as I learned who actually made products here, people wanted to know who those people were. And so I share that information. And then I started to go down the path of other products. And I started with NYC strong was the first website that I started with. And folks out in Detroit say You know what, we actually still make products in America. But we don't want to be on New York City Strong's website, we want to be on a website that represents all of America. So that's really how it started. And it was word of mouth.

Laura Lee Botsacos  3:52  

I love that. I think some of the best businesses come from word of mouth. That's one of the things I talk about a lot on this podcast is that you have an inspiration, you have an idea and whether by fate or design, some odd trickle effect happens. And next thing you know, you haven't a viable business. Yeah, cuz I know that you have a very, very extensive background, which I think is astonishing. It's astonishing. So how do you know, let's talk a little bit about what your workday looks like?

Unknown Speaker  4:22  

Yeah, so we are up so early. So my husband Alex mentions he has a very large and thriving business. He's running around. You know, he goes, you know, 24 hours a day. We have six kids. So his business is Celsius.network. They started something called blockchain a very, very long time ago. That kind of blossomed. We use blockchain and our site now to really verify those manufacturing pieces are in fact USA made. And so we're up at the crack of dawn 5 am, we're looking at social channels. You know, USA strong IO, does a really good job of making sure that we're communicating on as many different channels as we can for all of our brands. So all of our marketing is free of charge, we don't charge any of our vendors, the marketing that we're doing, I think we have 180 brands now on our site. So I know Apollo and Artemis were, I think, number four or five on the site, you're an OG. And we just love your mission of what you do. Right? Everything is organic, and you know how you represent people. It's just so important to how we think about the products. Also, you know, it was synergistic, right when I was reading about what you do. Yeah, so our day is, you know, going strong at 5am, no pun intended. And, you know, I don't even know when it ends, I think there's, you know, a little two or three hour window that I'm getting sleep in there. But you know, getting the kids dressed, getting them ready for their day, getting their teeth brushed. Getting ready for the work day. I don't really work out because I think the workout is the household.

Laura Lee Botsacos  6:18  

Yeah, I know. And I'm sitting here looking at you going, Wow, maybe I should feel really bad about myself. Because all I have to focus on is myself and my businesses. So I'm like, Oh my God, how does she do this? Like, I can't even you know, I'm embarrassed to tell you that half the time I just make myself peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because I don't want to cook. It's like I've listened to you. Like this one has six children. Literally you should be like embarrassed

Krissy Mashinsky  6:42  

I love kids food, you know, sometimes popcorn is all that healthy stuff you need. Right?

Laura Lee Botsacos  6:49  

Yeah, it's so true. You know, because let's talk a little bit about your background. Because for us, yes. Because one of the things I do here on the business serum is I'd like to talk about how people have these stories in our history and how our personal and our professional history, when you really excavate it really, ultimately helps to navigate you to these different areas of your life. Does that make sense?

Krissy Mashinsky  7:08  

Yeah, it sure does it. Yeah.

Laura Lee Botsacos  7:10  

So how would you say, your past experience in the fashion industry has served you well with USA strong?

Krissy Mashinsky  7:20  

Yeah. So you know, being fashionable. You know, I think of my, my passive fashion being very one dimensional, you know, is very focused on what to wear, as far as clothing on my body. Okay. And it was like, oh, you know, I love pink, or what is the trend? Or what's the shoe trend? Or I would say it was more surface for a lot of years. And I think probably in the past five years of my life, I started to take it a little deeper. And I think that had to do with the next generation. Right? So having children, and having all age groups, I would say the girls in the family and some of the older girls take fashion a lot further than I ever thought, right? So I loved runway shows. And I loved couture, and I love the patterns. They want to know how something's made. They want to know what's in it. Was someone harmed? Were animals harmed? right. And again, I think that goes back to even what you do and how you think about products. And I saw that trend coming about five years ago. And it just, you know that ball just kept getting bigger. It's just like a tornado coming. And it was hard for me to articulate that. I just was like, What do you mean, what's in it? I don't know, we made it. I don't know where it was made. But that changed. And I had to explain it. So I still think there's an interest, you know, I'm always going to look pink, I'm always going to love that kitten, you know, I'm always going to want to have the right you know, the hair and you know, the couture the bag, but I want it from a brand that can answer the question, hence where I am today. Right? So I want to know, I want to be able to see something tangible about who made it. Show me. Those are the questions that I asked now. So I built this site, which is ecommerce, it's online, it's digital. And that really wasn't my background. It wasn't just digital. I wanted a storefront and I wanted the experience of going in. Now it's all digital and I want a video of the factory. I want it locked on a blockchain, I want code that brings me from the beginning of the process to the face who touched the original one process, right? Where's the beginning of where's the seed that was planted for the piece of cotton? Who did it and let's celebrate that person. First and foremost, I still want to know where Christian Lacroix is, on the runway, but it's at the beginning of the process. So I think my fashion background is always going to serve me just for taste. And, you know, the wonderful experience for the customer experience, but I really had to think back of my college experience. And I think that served me well going to school there. Am I you know, I danced with American Ballet Theatre. So putting together the story, you know, and thinking back of the people that put together those productions helped me think about the storytelling, of really pulling it together of how something was made. That was a very long answer. I apologize.

Laura Lee Botsacos  11:09  

No, but you know, that's great. I love it. I'm actually fascinated. So I'm learning more and more about you. I'm like, God, and we do ballet, and we have six children, and we start and we have a business. And we have a husband and another thriving business. Oh, my God. You know, I have to get up and do my peloton, make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and my business. I'm like, Oh, my God, I'm exhausted.

Krissy Mashinsky  11:32  

I see so many women on their peloton on these balconies. That's a whole TV show about what happens on the balconies of New York City? I saw a kid on a swing and a balcony on Park Avenue. Yeah, just swinging. I think that's a whole show.

Laura Lee Botsacos  11:49  

Okay, thank you. And well, yeah, the swinging back. And that doesn't sound safe at all. But that's, you know

So talk to me a little bit about it because, you know, obviously there is a lot going on. Right. So you talk about this creative process, I think this natural curiosity, your background, but clearly you must have been, and I've seen it, experienced it rather than a strong team. Absolutely. So what about a little insight on exactly what makes a strong team?

Krissy Mashinsky  12:21  

You know, that would be when I talk about waking up early. And looking at that social, and how strong we are on social, I would say, that is the team. That is where they bring that story to life. And the fact that we are really just ecommerce, you have to have a team that can effectively communicate your vision. And if it wasn't for the team, doing that 24 hours a day, I would not be where we are right, we've only been open eight months, the site's been live, you know, I think it's 41 weeks, you know, we counted in weeks. And you know, they're going 20th, a lot of work managing all of those social channels. And they're telling the stories of people like you of Apollo and Artemis and how you came to be. So they're not even really telling the story of you as a strong.io They're telling the stories of 180 brands daily. And then they're telling it as a tik tok, or a Snapchat, or an Instagram, or Reddit or a Pinterest or Twitter. And it's so many different personality types, those channels right? are strong TV. And not everyone is like you, not everyone wants to do a live show. You know, not everybody wants to do an interview. Some people are scared. Some people don't know how to tell their story. Some people don't want anyone to know how they made it. They want to keep it to themselves. So I'm trying to encourage them to share their information because it's a beautiful, wonderful story. We shouldn't hide that any longer. And the team does a great job of sharing and celebrating it to the point where people are starting to come out of their shells.

Laura Lee Botsacos  14:16  

Yeah. And I love that. And first of all I do. I love all your social media, and you do have a great team because I've worked with them. And you're right that there really is so much life to what you put out there. It makes it very exciting. And it's true. And it's really hard sometimes to navigate those different social media channels because like you said, each one has a different personality, so to speak. So when so USA strong. So I'm one of the backs. I'm really just fascinated by how so basically through word of mouth, that's just kind of how you grew that.

Krissy Mashinsky  14:49  

Yeah, our organic growth is definitely the number one way we've grown thus far. I would say social is number two, right? So first, it's organic, and it's social email is definitely strong for us. The head of our design, Mimi's as off as a fabulous job of her email communication, every email as well thought out. So conversion through email has been phenomenal for us. SMS has been fabulous. So I think just being creative and how you tell that story, its storytelling has translated extremely well. I think the stores that we work with, that's word of mouth, right? So they bring their customers I think, at first people were very nervous to work with us. They didn't know what the anti-Amazon meant. Last year, Amazon was loved. People thought I was crazy. What do you mean, you're gonna take on Jeff Bezos? You know, I went on national TV and said, I'm taking on Jeff and many people said, No, he's the most loved man, you know, and I said, but he takes so much money from small business. I just, you know, I look at him as destroying fashion. You know, that's how we looked at him, you know, in the fashion world. But people love that company. And I get it, I understand, you know, they get products to people in a speedy way. But all that plastic is in there, you know, there's just all that product coming through  the, you know, over the ocean, and, you know, it just didn't, it never felt right to me, you know, and I think people are starting to catch on to that message. And here we are today. So people, you know, when you receive a package from a small business like yours, and you see the difference between the care and the note and how it's done, you're addicted.

Laura Lee Botsacos  16:55  

You're right, the world has changed. The consumer is educated. But more than that, the consumer also is very conscientious. And if you want to succeed, you have to at some point, you're going to have to, you're going to have to bend to the ethos. And I'm not saying you know, and I'm not saying genuflect to something that you don't viscerally connect with. I'm not saying that at all. I mean, yeah, I mean, because I connect with it, I believe it. I, you know, as you do, when I was creating my products, I knew for sure, there was no way that I knew for sure it was going to be vegan, but more than vegan, I knew for sure it was going to be clean beauty, I knew for sure there were not going to be any PGS. And there was going to be nothing toxic in it. It was super duper important to me. And when you start to and I think this kind of goes back to what you were talking about earlier, when you start when you have that idea, and you commit to that idea. You don't realize what you're about to take on, because it's a lot easier to do other things. And you have to look yourself in the mirror and just say, okay, am I going to stick with the commitment? Yeah, you're gonna stick to the commitment. Why? Because it's important. Why is it important? Because it's because it's the right thing to do. And it's, that's, it's important. But there were a couple of times during my journey, I was like, why the heck, if I just did bla bla bla, you know, it'd be easier. Yeah, sometimes you just can't grind it out. It's it's, but yeah,

Krissy Mashinsky  18:25  

there's always a moment that hits where you say, Okay, I'm doing the right thing. There's always that moment where you're about to break, and then something happens. And it just brings you back to life. And that's how I always know, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Laura Lee Botsacos  18:44  

I love that, would you consider yourself an entrepreneur is that a label you would use for yourself?

Krissy Mashinsky  18:48  

I am now I've never been in my life. And it's been a learning curve. This is really something that you have to have a lot of grit for. And I have to say, these entrepreneurs, these women and men out there that have started their own businesses that have been doing it for a decade without any help without anybody. I give them so much credit. I really do. What a hall they have been up against so much. And I am here to help as much as I can. And I'm learning from them every day. I spoke to a woman this morning, you know, and her and you know, she spoke to me with such authority. And she had a bone to pick with me and her little girl. Then I get here, the little girl in the background. And she's like, Mommy, I'm in the bathroom waiting for you. And she said, Okay, I said, Oh, I understand and you know it and now we're best friends. And that's humanity. And because for years she's been used to just getting railroaded by these big companies. And you know what? She's gonna be on our site with us for she's now part of our group, right 70% of our sellers are women. 

Laura Lee Botsacos  20:01  

gonna say that yeah, that's your thing about your site. That's astonishing. 

Krissy Mashinsky  20:03  

You don't have to worry about me. I've got kids, I'm real. 

Laura Lee Botsacos  20:07  

You are and the majority of your team is women, if I remember correctly, you support. Yeah, I mean, that's another thing that I just loved about it. I was like, wow, this is like a great, great platform. Because it's not just a platform about business, it's a community. And I think that when you build a community and you build a group, or you know, a network of like minded individuals are empowered. And that's really where success comes from. I know that in my little, my little space of time running Apollo and Artemis the amount and even during this pandemic being on lockdown, I cannot believe the amount of networking that I've been able to do via zoom via these online, you know, onto you know, genuine people with people that Yep. Right? Because, and you because you begin to connect, and everybody's like, wow, yeah, it's hard. There's some days I wake up, you know, you know, and you put your feet on the ground, you're like, you know, what am I doing, I'm gonna go back to bed, you know, but you can't you have to, when you it's, yeah

Krissy Mashinsky  21:10  

those people and you connect with them. And the sparks go, and that is how this has been built. And I'm very fortunate, and today was another one of those days where it's like, it's so worth it is every single store that comes on is it means something, I remember every single story about bringing these sores on, and I'm not going to forget any single one of them. And we're just we're moving so fast now. You know, wellness and beauty is, is one of our best categories. Self Care. I wouldn't say athletic wear, I would say those Halo categories are much stronger now. Food, local food market is starting to trend. It's exciting to see the things that I didn't have experience in, right, like just clothing. So it's accessories it's, you know, all those other categories, men's we have 50% of our site is men, buying hair products, it's just a joy, to watch it, it's just a joy to watch it.

Laura Lee Botsacos  22:18  

But that's a real testament to you and to your conviction and to what you've been able to create. I mean,  of course, you should be proud of yourself. And that's, uh, you know, you're taking on something, but pulling a lot of people with you. And as you grow everybody else that's with you grows. It's a very symbiotic relationship. So I mean, there's you should, you know, you should really feel really good about that. I think that's really honorable.

Krissy Mashinsky  22:41  

It's fun that we made it fun to shop on this site, because you can shop made in REITs, we've now have 34 states, where you can find products made in those states. And that was really hard to do right to really verify those 34 states, right? So we you say okay, but what, what is the value of USA strong IO, I would say, well, we're verifying those brands, those products, those people, and you can shop those small business in the drop down, and then shop, either the brand, the person or the state, you can just look at made in, and then it shows you what products are made in your local neighborhood, you can actually zoom in to your local street and see if that stores in your street. So it makes it very intimate.

Laura Lee Botsacos  23:26  

It does. And I think we need to get back to that. I think that in some ways the world has gotten bigger. And in some ways the world has gotten smaller. I think, you know, I think when we bring business back to the core, and that's not to say that there's any that's not to say that things are not viable outside of our country. Okay. But I think that there, yeah, it brings commerce back to the home. And I think that that and revenue and I think that that's all really important stuff. I feel very similar, you know that the lab that we use down in Nashville, Tennessee, it's a small lab, it's literally run by a small family. Love them, pick them up, you know, I call them on the phone. It's great. So i Same thing. I feel very, very. It's a privilege. It's a privilege to be able to Yeah, it's a privilege for sure. So a couple of more questions. And I know we should probably wrap up what would you say? So how do you stick like I know for myself that you have to stay sharp and you have to be innovative? Right. So would you say it's hard? It's hard to stay innovative? How do you stay innovative?

Krissy Mashinsky  24:35  

Well, I think because we were so far ahead with the technology piece of it. The blockchain. I think we came out early with that. And I think that the verification piece is way ahead of its time. I think that that's probably the innovation. And I think we're still not even fully launched with that just because we were touring. Almost everyone was a little scared of what the word blockchain was? Yeah.

Laura Lee Botsacos  25:05  

Do you want to explain a little bit about what blockchain is to those individuals that might not know what that is?

Krissy Mashinsky  25:10  

Sure. So, blockchain is an immutable code. And basically, once that code is set, it can never be chained. So once we have proof of production, we can call it and that proof is verified by someone on our team, whether it's visiting the production facility, whether it's a person that works for us, producing it themselves, confirming that they actually made it in this location. And their jars of honey came from Joe down the street. And Joe confirms, okay, this is my location, and that goes on to the blockchain code. That's really the code. That's how it goes. It's two or three people confirming one piece of information. So basically, what blockchain means is that, you know, the thought is three or more people do not lie about a single piece of information. That's very unusual. So it would mean like, three of us would go see Nashville, see the production of Apollo and Artemis, have one jar and say, yep, we all verify this is here. Let's confirm it, that gets locked on the code. It kind of leaves the core that can never be changed. It's immutable. For that piece, right? That's blockchain. Typically, three people don't lie. It's very hard. Very hard. Do you want more than three people? Sure. We could put 10 people there and say, but I usually don't do that. But that's what we do. Right. So I think the innovation as far as the technology we're pretty advanced. Right? So no one in the country knows that the government never took it upon themselves to verify something was made in the US. I don't know why. So again, when I was making my own products last year, trying to see what was made in the US, and I was looking for the verification kind of like PETA, right? PETA hasn't. Okay, there's no USA verification. I literally fell off my chair. I said, Well, then I'm going to do it, then I will do it. Right. So it's, it's a long runway, right. So there's a lot of room for me to do this. I think for the creativity of the innovation on the creative side. When you ask about the team, I think these 180 stores are part of the team. That's the innovation. So every day we're innovating with our partners, whether it's skateboards, whether it's beauty, people come to me with the most unbelievable creations, and they can be any age, and just wowed every single day. So I encourage any one of your viewers also to go into the site, they want to be on the site, they should apply for verification. If they're making products, they're not making products here, encourage them to try. We would love that too. Right? I love it.

Laura Lee Botsacos  28:41  

Yeah, well, yeah. On that note, what new things come around the corner for USA strong? 

Krissy Mashinsky  28:48  

Yeah, there is. I can't name the company yet. But we're launching wine. 

Laura Lee Botsacos  28:55  

you probably need taste testers to come to your house. You know,

Krissy Mashinsky  29:00  

I know. I mean, it's funny.

Laura Lee Botsacos  29:03  

Look at that funny. You know what? It's interesting because I have a really good palate for wine. So are

Krissy Mashinsky  29:07  

you doing I don't I can't wait. That'll be Sunday night. We started these TV shows. And Sunday is PJ Sunday. So yes, it's the PJ party.

Laura Lee Botsacos  29:18  

Oh, I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. So what? Alright, so I want to know we have to get ready to wrap up but talk to me first, please, about where people can find out more information about you and your site, your social media handles, etc.

Krissy Mashinsky  29:35  

Sure. So in any channel, it's USA strong IO. So whether it's Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tik Tok, it's always USA strong.io Or just USA strong IO. And then for my personal it's Krissy Mashinsky and Krissy with a K. Not ch and Mashinsky is mash and sky.

Laura Lee Botsacos  30:02  

It is mash and sky. I'm never gonna forget it now. It's almost as complicated as my last night botsacos, which there's really no, no I know, fun way of getting around that one. So towards the end of my podcast , as you know, because of Apollo and Artemis, I'd like to ask this question: if your business or your brand were a beauty product or a skincare product, what would it be? You know, what would it look like? And what would you name it? 

Krissy Mashinsky  30:02  

think it would definitely either be eyeliner or lip gloss. I definitely am known for my eyes and lip And it'd be called Kris KRIS is not that I think about it. i been waiting for someone to ask me this

Laura Lee Botsacos  30:55  

Maybe that's what we should do. Maybe we should create our own makeup line made here in the States. It could be like, you know, Kris, and LL Krystal. Yeah. Well, thank you. Anything else you'd like to say to our viewers? 

Krissy Mashinsky  31:12  

I use your stuff. I mean, do I look good? 

Laura Lee Botsacos  31:15  

You look amazing. 

Krissy Mashinsky  31:17  

Thank you. I use it every day. 

Laura Lee Botsacos  31:21  

Thank you. That means Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah, you do. Yeah, I was. I was actually thinking to myself, I'm like, wow, her skin looks really good. Thank you. Oh, do all thanks. Yes, absolutely. Everybody's got to go on to your site. Check it out. I'm so flattered that you took time out of your very busy day with your, you know, your company's people over there. I know. You're amazing. Thank you. I mean, honestly, from the bottom of my thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for being a part of the business serum and I look forward to continuing our journey together. Krissy

Krissy Mashinsky  31:56  

Thank you. 

Laura Lee Botsacos  31:57  

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. And thank you so much for listening. If you liked the show, please remember to subscribe and leave a review. If you want to learn more about the business serum or me follow me at Laura Lee Botsacos and you can also find me on the worldwide web at ww.lauraleebotsacos.com. Thank you so much and continue closing yourself on you.