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Full Transcript:

Note: This is an original transcript–edited for sense, length, and clarity.  If you have any questions or concerns, please email our host, Doria Lavagnino, at doria@sheventurespodcast.com.

Intro: 

Doria Lavagnino: This ex-ballerina was born in Moscow, and lived and worked in Russia, France, Cyprus, and the U.S., primarily in corporate sales and marketing. She always loved fashion and found a way to pivot to entrepreneurship by starting an online lingerie business called Angie’s Showroom, where she is the CEO and founder. Here to speak to us today is Angelina Mahany! Welcome to SheVentures!

Angelina Mahany: Thank you! I’m so excited to be here, Doria! It’s going to be a very interesting podcast today. 

Doria: I’m sure that it will be! Angelina is being very diplomatic because she is not telling you two things. One, that we had struggled to connect for 15 minutes — which happens in podcast life. Also that she is the mother of a 6-month-old baby. Those of us who have had kids probably [know that she is not] getting a lot of sleep between motherhood and work. Is that the case?

Mahany on Motherhood and Family Life

Angelina: Yes, I have two girls. [My first] is almost 6 years old and my baby is almost 6 months old. I also have several projects. It’s a lot of work right now, but I’m trying to do my best. 

Doria: Oh my goodness, yes! Do you have someone that helps you with your kids or with work?

Angelina: Unfortunately not, because my parents [are] still in Russia. They live in Moscow. [As for] my husband’s parents, his mom died just before Thanksgiving [last year]. His dad lives in North Carolina right now. We don’t really have anyone here in Florida. It’s kind of tough, but it’s what we have to do.

Doria: So you guys are starting new in a new state where you don’t have any connections?

Angelina: I mean, actually, here we’re closer to family. We used to live in Austin, Texas, and it was farther from my parents. Flying from Russia to Austin was difficult. We’ve been [in Florida] for two and a half years, and it’s not as bad. [My husband] started here; he went to college here. 

Doria: The last thing I’ll say before we move on — going from one child to two. I also have two daughters. My new saying is “Little girls, little problems. Big girls, big problems.” I love them dearly, but oh my goodness! What I remember about going from one to two [kids] was, “That was much harder than going from zero to one,” because when you’re going from zero to one, you only have one [kid] to think about. It was hard. I don’t know if you found it that way.

Angelina: That’s true. I was very scared. I couldn’t decide for years [if] I wanted a second child. I was so afraid [because] I still remembered the beginning, the labor, the first months, and everything.  I was younger. I had less work. I only had one project. Right now, I have more work. I’ve never had any vacation, to be honest. The [first] time, my parents could visit for a couple of weeks, at least. This time, due to the whole situation that happened in 2020, [it was] unfortunately very difficult for them to come. Yeah, it’s harder but the age difference [helps].

My oldest, Sophia, is great at supporting. She loves Olivia, the baby. She tries to help. There is no jealousy between the girls, which I’m very happy about because I was kind of scared. Everything is great.

I am a little bit worried about their age gap because it’s going to be five and a half years between them. I’m a little bit afraid that they’re not going to be as close as they could be. 

[For] my mom and [her] sister, their age difference is seven years. Right now they are fine because they are both adults and everything, but it used to be bad. They didn’t connect as children or teenagers. They started to communicate their problems [as adults] after twenty years. That’s kind of my concern, again.

I’m happy that I did it [the way I did]. It is what it is, right? 

Growing Up in Moscow

Doria: Let’s transition. You’ve not only had a career pivot but you have had a very interesting life. You have worked and lived in four different economies and cultures. I wanted to start [with], what was it like growing up in Russia?

Angelina: I’m from Moscow, the capital of Russia. It’s very different from the rest of Russia. We lived in the center of it in a very nice area. I didn’t really have any issues. I loved my childhood, had a great school, and was studying ballet. 

At the age of 5, I started dancing. [At] 9, my parents put me into a professional school for ballet. 

Doria: Wow, that’s young. 

Angelina: Yeah and  I was at this school from [9 to 18 years old]. I was planning to become a professional dancer. I wanted to dance in theaters and everything. That was the plan. 

Russia and Ukraine in the Current News

Angelina: Moscow, in general, is a great city. It’s beautiful. It’s changed a lot since my childhood. They’ve built more buildings and decorated the whole city differently. They’ve changed a lot of things and every year it’s slightly different, which I like. 

Unfortunately, I haven’t been there since the lockdown. I was planning to go last March when I was pregnant and could still fly. I had tickets and [was] supposed to go; unfortunately, the flight got canceled. It didn’t happen. I haven’t been there in three years, now. 

Doria: I’m so sorry. I’m very curious about what your parents are hearing in comparison to what you’re hearing about the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

Angelina: That’s a difficult topic. We are trying to not touch this when I speak to my parents or my friends. My friends’ opinions are probably a little closer to mine. My parents have different opinions about that. I’m trying to not talk about it with them as much as possible because I don’t want to have any arguments with my family. Religion and politics [are] very sensitive topics. Everyone has their own opinion. 

It’s my opinion but I do believe that there is a lot of propaganda in Russia. My parents, in general, watch a lot of news. We do have different opinions about what is going on and happening but I don’t believe that it’s good or bad. I think there is something in between that we probably [can find]. 

Doria: Of course. I agree. 

Angelina: Yeah, I do believe there is something that Putin probably had in mind when he did what he did but it’s still a war. People are dying and the country is destroyed. I do not support that. My friends don’t support that. I feel sorry. 

I do work with Ukraine a lot. It was a huge struggle last year [for me] and it continues. I did work with Russia, too. Both countries were kind of my partners in production, so that’s been tough. 

Doria: Yeah, absolutely.

From Ballet to Economics

Doria: So, you went from becoming a ballerina until you were 18 and then [getting an economics degree in Moscow] — how did that transition happen?

Angelina: I loved dancing. It was an amazing experience for me, as a child. 

We had very interesting subjects at school that nobody really studies unless you’re in college and you specifically study art. We had the history of painting, history of theater, history of makeup — [lots of classes] specifically for dancers and artists. It was a lot of subjects that I’m glad I had because [they] grew my mind a lot. It was a very nice school. 

I was good but I was not the best dancer. With that, my parents were concerned. There were like, “Okay, what’s going to be your future? Are you sure you want to go into theater?” [I wasn’t sure] but it used to be my whole childhood.

Doria: It’s, also, a pretty short career, right? 

Angelina: Yes! They go on retirement pretty early. Now, there are different options for ballerinas but it’s still a short career. 

My parents were pushing me that I had to get a normal degree, and normal for them was something like economics and management and all of that. It was a difficult decision but right now, at this age, I understand it. It was probably the best decision. I wouldn’t have what I have now [without it]. I wouldn’t have met my husband or had two beautiful kids. I’m glad that it happened that way and my parents kind of pushed me. 

I went into corporate management [in university] because I thought [it was] between marketing and management.

Doria: So you had more options?

Angelina: Yeah and because it was after ballet, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was like, “Okay, I want to study everything to see the whole picture and then maybe decide what I want to do.” I chose corporate management [because] it was more like a specific path. After that, I decided to go more into marketing and I got my master’s in marketing. 

Doria: Very smart. [In this country,] there’s a huge student loan debt crisis issue. In Russia, is your education completely free?

Angelina: Yes.

Doria: Wow.

Angelina: I’m so scared about my girls. We’re trying to build and leave some money [away] for them. [It’s] insane how expensive things are here.
Regarding the price, we have several options. If you have good grades and passed all the exams — the system has slightly changed [from] when I graduated — in the universities. It’s not like here where you just apply to different colleges and get a letter back. We have it kind of similar now, but when I was [going through it], we had to go to each college or university or whatever and sit there and write an exam for every single place. 

Doria: Wow!

Angelina: It was very complicated compared to the U.S. system. If you had good grades and passed all those exams, you have a sort of score, I guess like a high score. They put you into free classes [based on that score]. If you’re under a certain score, you probably have the option to pay and study there, but it’s still a different amount of money compared to the United States. It’s cheaper. I have no idea about the cost now but it’s still probably a bit more inexpensive.

Doria: Wow! I’m glad that you’re saving for your children’s education. Everyone should because it comes fast and it’s expensive. 

Immigrating to the United States

Doria: When you immigrated to the United States, was that due to meeting your husband? How did that all work out?

Angelina: Yes, correct. From Moscow, I moved to France because I decided to continue my education. I wanted to study abroad to get this different type of education. I got into business school in France near Paris — it was like one hour away.

Doria: Sounds amazing. 

Angelina: It was called Rouen. It’s the city where Joan of Arc was burned, so it’s famous for her. 

It was a very beautiful tiny city near Paris. For us, it was okay because we were studying all week and then we’d go to Paris for the weekend. 

After [studying there], I tried to find a job or internship there. I [ended up] in Paris for half a year. Unfortunately, it was difficult for me to get a work visa because I’m not a European Union citizen. They, then, offered me a job, actually, for the Sochi Olympic Games as a marketing assistant because, at the time, I was working for a French company and their main partners were the Olympic Games. They needed someone who spoke Russian and offered me the job.

After that, I returned back to Moscow. I [started] looking for a job. I [found one] for a startup company in Cyprus, and I was like, “Oh my god, yeah! I’m going to totally do it!”

I was worried about Cyprus because it’s a rustic place. It’s a big island. It was a different experience. 

A couple of weeks prior [to me getting the job offer], I met my husband. We actually met online and communicated [with each other half a year before meeting in person]. 

I wanted to go visit my friends in New York. I applied for a visa. He wasn’t even in New York, he was in Alabama at the time and I wasn’t planning to go there. I told him that I was going to go to New York and [he was welcome to come, too]. He was like, “Of course, I want to see you.”

He drove for two days straight; he had to go from Ohio to New York and then back home to Alabama. I was surprised. I was like, “Oh my God, that’s a very big trip.” Then, he only stayed for two days. He came for New Year’s and we met, then I flew back to Russia. I wasn’t planning it to be serious but it got serious. 

We tried to travel. We spoke every day. He traveled to Russia and Cyprus, I traveled to Ohio and Austin. It [got] expensive.

After two years, he finally proposed. We were in Moscow and planning to move to Austin.

Doria: Were you excited to move to the United States? What was your feeling about it? Mixed?

Angelina: It’s a long story. I was excited and scared. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was a marketing manager in Cyprus. She had offered me a job to stay for a while. I [was] so grateful that she did. 

We were young, and the first year being in a marriage is tough. I was scared that I didn’t know what I was going to do. It was Austin, it was great, but it was different. 

I haven’t been living [in the U.S.]. for a long time. I was living for three months in Washington D.C., then three months in Philadelphia, and visited some other places. I was excited.

Doria: Of course, I mean that’s very natural. 

Angelina: When I flew [ to Austin], I had a ticket from Cyprus to Moscow to New York. I was supposed to, then, connect to Austin. Unfortunately, in New York, the airport employees were not educated about the visa that I had so they deported me back. 

I’m telling this story not because it’s nice to know but because you asked if I was excited. After the deportation and how much money we spent on lawyers and everything, a lot of other things happened [to where] I just hated the United States.

Doria: I don’t blame you. 

Angelina: When this happened to me, my husband flew back for one day just to take me back when they allowed me to return because they had canceled my visa. 

Doria: That’s insane. 

Angelina: I thought, “I’m not going to make it.” I thought that the airport would just stop me or whatever. In New York, the airport manager wanted to call my lawyer. She wasn’t available and this was on a weekend, so she couldn’t do anything. The manager said, “I’m so sorry this happened to you,” then left and they put me in this room where I was sitting for almost two days before they returned me back.

Doria: Oh my God.

Angelina: They opened my passport and said, “No, this is correct.” I was like, “Are you serious right now? You just did that to me and now you’re saying it was correct?” I was just afraid they would do the same thing, again, to a different person. 

Doria: Of course. That’s horrible. 

Angelina: So I hated everything [to do with the United States]  for my first months [here] and before our wedding. I was like, “I don’t want to live here. I don’t like anything.” I was excited at first but after that situation, everything changed. Now, I’m fine but [getting here] was not amazing.
Doria: I’m really glad that you shared that because I think people tend to gloss over what it’s like to come to the United States. It’s really difficult as an immigrant.

Angelina: It’s just a lack of information that was supposed to be trained on and wasn’t. I wanted to even go to court but we didn’t have money. My lawyer didn’t know if we should because it was a governmental organization — it’s Customs and Border Protection, it’s Homeland Security.

I had to pay for several tickets [to come over]. I had my dog, my luggage, then I had to pay [all that] again because it was extra fees. Then, my husband’s [ticket] for flying over once so he didn’t want me to fly alone again. Then, the thousands of dollars we were supposed to pay our lawyer for what happened to me. We started our life with that debt. That’s why I wanted to go to court because I wanted a kind of monetary reimbursement. [My lawyer] was not sure it could work and we just didn’t do it. 

Doria: Sometimes it’s also the time and energy to fight the government — I’m not at all saying one shouldn’t — and you have to weigh what’s important. It sounds like you decided to look ahead, instead.

Doria: You were married in the U.S. I’m really glad that you spoke about that transition being rough because I think it is for a lot of people. 

Angelina: I think it’s the first months when everything is new and you don’t have friends.  

Doria: Yeah, you took a real leap of faith.

Angelina: It was. I started to live with [my husband] and we had to get used to each other, of course, and the routines we both had. It’s always a transition between different cultures. 

An example I use is restaurants. [When you go] into a restaurant or a cafe and sit down and the waiter immediately comes to you and asks, “What do you want to drink?” In [this country,] it’s only soda drinks, water, iced tea, and that’s it. I was always like, “Do you have coffee? Maybe a cappuccino or latte?” [They would go,] “No, we just have soda products.” [I’d go,] “Okay, do you have any smoothies? Any orange juice? Do you have any fresh juices?” We have those everywhere and in every place, but here no. It’s all Coke products.

Starting From Scratch

Doria: At some point, you decided to start Angie’s Showroom. How did that come about?

Angelina: So, I moved [but] I still had this job for the Cyprus company. She kept it for me for maybe a couple of months. I was working remotely. I was like, “Okay, I want to do something on my own.” [I thought that because] the United States is famous for business entrepreneurs, for like the American dream and everything. I was like, “If I want to do something, I have to do it here.” 

Of course, it’s always tough when you don’t have money to start a business. At this point, we didn’t have money. I [was] pregnant. I kept saying, “I have to have something,” after I got pregnant because I knew that the United States didn’t have maternity leave.

Doria: Yeah, it’s terrible. 

Angelina: Yeah that’s another thing that I don’t really like here. It’s bad. I was like, “I don’t want to go to work,” because [my husband] was pushing me to search for a job and I was going to have a baby. I’d have to hand the baby over [to childcare] at 3 months and I didn’t want to do that. [My husband] understood it but he knew we needed money.

At this point,  I started to think about commerce, business, and resale. Before Angie’s started, I had this business reselling women’s accessories and handbags;  it’s through Instagram. 

I wanted a commerce business badly at this point. I started it seven years ago when Instagram was such a [booming business]. It was easy to grow organically; it was so easy to get customers. It’s called Shopaholic in the USA. It was so easy without money to grow and get clients. I got some partners that were reselling that live in Russia. We basically started to cooperate. I [kept getting] orders and it was growing. 

At that point, my husband was like, “Okay, you don’t have to go to a job.” I was already pregnant and didn’t make tons of money, but I actually made more than I was making in Cyprus.

Doria: It’s a proof of concept — you have to prove to yourself that you have the knowledge and framework to do it.

Angelina: Yeah and I proved that I could do something. After several years, I was researching what [else I could] do. 

I traveled a lot as a child, teenager, and into my 20s. I lived in different places so I saw different cultures and different things. That’s why I felt that there were a lot of things that the United States doesn’t have when compared to European markets — simply because the culture is different or they don’t know about it. 

Before my marriage, my friends gifted me a handmade silk set and I was starting to think about the bill.  My friend told me that it was a handmade lingerie brand. I was pretty sure the United States [didn’t] have any handmade lingerie pieces.

Doria: There’s not much —  not [on a] big scale.

Angelina: Yes, exactly. In France, they have lingerie stores everywhere; they’re pretty and there are tons of them. When I was thinking about that, I got this idea: “Why not try lingerie?” I wasn’t a designer at the time or anything like that. I had zero knowledge about building lingerie. I was curious [because] it was interesting. [The idea] was beautiful in my mind. I said, “I can try and start it,” and I did.

Doria: Did you contact the people [from your friends’ gift?]

Angelina: I did! [My friends] gave me the contact [information]. I did contact the brand. We still communicate with them. Unfortunately, I don’t really work with them [anymore]. They have beautiful pieces. I had to start with something. I couldn’t make anything from scratch.

Doria: Of course.

Angelina: Right now, I’m making more of my designs but, of course, I started with that different perspective.

Doria: I want to ask an economic question. When you bought these pieces or had [them] made by the company in Russia or Ukraine, is the cost of labor much less that it became more affordable?

Angelina: Yes, that’s actually my pain right now. 

Doria: I would imagine.

Angelina: I talked about the war and that Ukraine is struggling with production. 

I was working with both countries. You’re correct, the labor is cheaper. The second thing is that I was looking for years for seamstresses here. I couldn’t find anyone who made lingerie. It’s pretty difficult and delicate work. I do have a seamstress now, but it was difficult. 

In Ukraine, they have a lot of factories and ladies that specialize in lingerie. Not everyone is specialized in underwire because that’s a whole different story. It’s difficult to make. The labor, the materials — they have great materials and they’re cheaper. 

Doria: Correct me if I’m wrong but [I heard you say in an interview] you wanted to do like 20 handmade pieces at a time, right? You’d have 20 pieces of [a product] and that was it and once they’re sold, that’s it? That’s how it worked or was it just “one of a kind”?

Angelina: When I started, I had to find some partners. I started with this Russian brand. I knew the quality and they were interested in working on a wholesale basis. I had just started — I needed a website, pictures, and products. I needed to test this niche. I did order from them a small bunch of products in a couple of sizes. I also found [a company] in Ukraine, so I also did a test there. They were completely different; the one in Russia made silk products and Ukraine made mostly lace materials. They had different styles. When I got my first shipment, I felt lucky. I still do work with them. 

I, also, found a store in Austin that’s a lingerie store. They have a great customer database. I offered them to keep my product and sell it, so they have my products in store. They pay me back for my products when they sell them. It was kind of a win-win situation because I didn’t have a customer database at the time and they wanted something new in their store.

Doria: I love that. Perfect. What was the data that you ended up collecting between the two from Russia and Ukraine? What did you learn?

Angelina: I did try different brands. I still like the idea of handmade. Both these brands were handmade, and I did like the quality and the price. I kept working but I wanted to think about how to move forward in the future and start creating my pieces. I didn’t want to keep continuing to sell other brands.

Doria: Absolutely.

Angelina: They’re still on the website. I’ve been transitioning for the past probably two or three years into my designs. 

Doria: So you’re doing the designs now?

Angelina: Yes. I’m trying to create more, and it obviously takes time.

Doria: Fantastic.

Angelina: I do struggle a lot with production logistics. My plan for 2023 is to do something about logistics and manufacturing. I’ve been looking at switching to some other factories, in some other countries. I’ll have to test and order the samples with my designs. It takes time. A lot of places like my idea. 

Making Sustainability Sexy

Angelina: It’s also about sustainability. We make our sets for orders so we work on pre-orders a lot. I do it like a scheme. 

Doria: That’s a good idea.

Angelina: We do save on materials. We do not pollute and have tons of extra inventory. It’s good because of the money, but it’s also good because we do not waste a lot of materials, accessories, and everything that’s useful. That’s probably why I won’t work with a factory that will require me to order 500 pieces of whatever. I don’t want to do that. 

Doria: No, it doesn’t sound like that’s what you’re after. 

If I can reflect back, what I think I’m hearing you say is for 2023, you’d like to position yourself as much as possible for pre-orders. [That way,] you can focus on the customer and what [they] want.

Angelina: Yeah, I have a couple of plans. First, I want to make sure we are trying to move forward on our sustainable journey as much as possible. I would like to source more sustainable materials. 

If we’re talking about silk, silks are sustainable. There are several different names for silk [and some] just cost more. 

With our economic situation, the price is increasing drastically for everything, right now. I try to keep our price range at the same level but I’m pretty sure if I moved [to more] sustainable materials, it’s not going to stay the same. It’s going to go up a lot. 

I’m trying to find this balance between still keeping the idea of my brand being handmade and unique and keeping the price range not too expensive, but not too low, somewhere in the middle. I try to stay in that place.

Doria: It’s hard. In one of the podcasts that I listened to, you said to set the cost, at that time, to about $150. Is that still about the same?

Angelina: Yeah, it’s still the same. We have $145 to $155. Some silk pieces are around $165. I had to increase the shipping price again, but that’s not up to me. 

Platforms for E-Commerce

Doria: What site do you use for your commerce? Do you use Shopify?

Angelina: Yes, we use that platform.

Doria: How have you liked it?

Angelina: It’s great. With my market and experience, I did work with different platforms. I did create several websites. Shopify, for me, was very easy to use. 

When I had corporate jobs, I never worked in commerce. It was new for me to add products and stuff. We did work a lot with WordPress, but that was more complicated than Shopify, in terms of user experience. 

Shopify is very easy to use. They have great customer experience. The price is good. I think it’s a great platform.

Doria: What percentage do they take?

Angelina: I think it depends on your plan. There is a standard plan and a huge enterprise plan or something in between. 

They probably take something — it depends on the plan — around 3 percent.

Doria: If I understand correctly, they’re providing you with the platform [and] the ability to take all the different payments.

Angelina: Yeah, it depends on what the customer wants to use. It’s better to offer everything. Then, customers can pick what they like to use — a card, Amazon Pay, or something like that. We try to offer everything.

Reflecting 

Doria: If you were to reflect on the past five years, what is one thing that you feel you’ve done exceptionally well and one thing that you would have done differently?

Angelina: In terms of my business?

Doria: Take it wherever you want to go!

Angelina: The past five years,  I’m thankful. I think I grew the brand probably not as much as I would have thought I could reach. I’m still proud of what I did because it was a side business [for a while] because I had my reselling business and the first baby. 

I have more plans. I want to invest more in advertising. I want to work more with wholesale if I decide what I’m doing with production. I don’t want customers to be upset, and right now they are a lot of the time because of the shipping time and process time. 

I’m proud of what I built, but I have more plans for what I’m going to do this year. I want to grow more. I want to try a new project for myself if I have time. I keep working and looking.

I wanted to try to sell on Amazon. They have a handmade category, which I never knew about. Maybe I will try to sell my products in Amazon’s handmade category. 

Doria: Tell our listeners where they can find any of your products and where you have all your different products. 

I would also like to interview you again in one year. I’d like to know what you’ve done in a year. 

Angelina: It would be interesting to look [back at] because my baby will be a year and a half. 

Doria: Let’s do that!

Angelina: It would be great. For U.S. citizens and Europeans, if you’re listening, the website is angieshowroom.com. We have all the links for our social media at the top of the website. We have Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, [Youtube, and TikTok] — we have everything. All the links are on the website. 

I have a blog, as well. I talk about U.S. life and business. My customers can read different stories from me.

Doria: If women want to support you and they see a picture but don’t understand the price, can they just ask you directly?

Angelina: They can. We have, sometimes, people ask us in direct messages. They ask to purchase something from different countries. Our main customer is Russian because the business was built that way. That’s why I’m trying to move more, because of the [current situation] I don’t know what’s going to happen today or tomorrow or in a month. That’s why I’m trying to push this year as much as I can [for the lingerie business] toward Amazon. That should be better in terms of economic situations for my business. 

Doria: Absolutely, and our concern is with people in Ukraine and Russia, as well. 

Angelina: Of course.

Doria: I very much appreciate that from a business perspective. We will talk again in a year! We’ll see where you’ve gone and I’m sure it will be exciting wherever it is! I want to thank you so much for coming to SheVentures!

Angelina: Thank you so much! I’m sorry if I talked too much. I always want to say many things.

Doria: No, I appreciate it. You are very honest and that’s great.
Angelina: Thank you.

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