Women-owned businesses power usastrong.IO to become first blockchain-verified marketplace for made in US

Entrepreneur Krissy Mashinsky has launched usastrong.IO. Top Business Tech takes a closer look.

Working women have been particularly hit hard by the job losses and dislocation wrought by the COVID pandemic, and have lost close to six million jobs since the pandemic began, according to the Department of Labor. Fortunately, a new trend is emerging, women are starting their own businesses at an unprecedented rate.

At the height of the pandemic, Krissy Mashinsky, a former top executive at popular Urban Outfitters, launched usastrong.IO, the first online platform to curate, sell and verify products. Categories include women’s and men’s clothing, home decor, beauty, health & wellness, athleisure, accessories, food & pantry, and launching this summer wine & spirits, all made or grown in the USA. The site has grown swiftly with a staggering 70% of its sellers representing women-owned businesses.

Female founders are at the helm of many of the new businesses launched in recent years, according to research by American Express. Mashinsky herself is an example of this new phenomenon where women make up 40% of new business owners, according to a report in Forbes.

Mashinsky launched the site usastrong.IO in October 2020, initially as an e-commerce site and branded usastrong.io casual clothing line. As she surveyed the toll the pandemic was taking – ravaging families, job losses and collapsed supply chains – Mashinsky saw a need to support local business owners, bolster communities and create jobs.

There are now over 45,000 users nationwide and 1.5 million impressions. Mashinsky expects that number to grow exponentially as more women get bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, whether out of necessity or by choice.

READ MORE:

“Every purchase has a cause and a reason,” said Mashinsky. The emphasis on entrepreneurship and on both locally-bought and verified made-in-America products appeals to women’s current values. “Every purchase is directly helping someone you know, and has an impact on helping someone.” Reports by Forbes and Harvard Business have noted women entrepreneurs are motivated to start their own businesses to accommodate family and community, as well as flexibility, reflecting the high value they place on both. These two motivations align with Mashinsky when she founded usastrong.IO and what she has learned from the sellers and buyers on the site.

For more news from Top Business Tech, don’t forget to subscribe to our daily bulletin!

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

Amber Donovan-Stevens

Amber is a Content Editor at Top Business Tech

Ab Initio partners with BT Group to deliver big data

Luke Conrad • 24th October 2022

AI is becoming an increasingly important element of the digital transformation of many businesses. As well as introducing new opportunities, it also poses a number of challenges for IT teams and the data teams supporting them. Ab Initio has announced a partnership with BT Group to implement its big data management solutions on BT’s internal...

WAICF – Dive into AI visiting one of the most...

Delia Salinas • 10th March 2022

Every year Cannes held an international technological event called World Artificial Intelligence Cannes Festival, better known by its acronym WAICF. One of the most luxurious cities around the world, located on the French Riviera and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. 

Bouncing back from a natural disaster with resilience

Amber Donovan-Stevens • 16th December 2021

In the last decade, we’ve seen some of the most extreme weather events since records began, all driven by our human impact on the plant. Businesses are rapidly trying to implement new green policies to do their part, but climate change has also forced businesses to adapt and redefine their disaster recovery approach. Curtis Preston,...