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April 21, 2024
The COVID-19 crisis has caused unprecedented disruption worldwide. It has equally damaged health and economic conditions on a global scale. Amid the chaos, few leaders managed to turn the tables and make the most of the opportunity. Michael Sinensky, the Co-Founder and CEO of WeShield (Assure Global LLC), was among the astute business leaders who managed to sustain the tough business climate. With the advent of the pandemic, his business came to an altogether halt and from zero he managed to build a company that has generated over 100 million revenue.
Michael is a graduate of New York University’s Stern School of Business and a recognized business leader and philanthropist. In the pre-COVID world, he was a restaurateur and owned approximately 25 places in NYC. He is also the owner of SimpleVenue, a hospitality company that operates some of NYC’s most iconic venues. Michael sits on the Boards of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, and previously represented NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer on the Board of the American Museum of Natural History and Wildlife Conservation Society.
The COVID wrath caught up to his businesses and soon Michael reached a point of unemployment and despite his own struggles his philanthropic tendencies brought him back to his roots and he once again started working with his disaster relief charity Friends of Rockaway in. He leaned on his deep network to secure PPE supplies and started donating them to the frontline workers and government agencies that needed them most. This powerful initiative quickly snowballed and WeShield was born.
WeShield was established with a mission to help people around them battle the challenges of the pandemic, by effectively providing solutions and meeting the safety demands of frontline workers and people fighting against COVID-19. After recognizing the flaws in the system and the broken supply chain, they developed a platform that countered such exploits and aided the frontline workers fighting COVID-19.
Since its establishment, WeShield has been able to provide quality PPE for thousands of frontline workers, healthcare workers, and people in need. The company underwent a complete transformation, from selling not a single mask to generating over 100 million revenue within the first year. It has actively leveraged advanced technology like AI and proprietary sales & marketing to reach thousands of companies, healthcare institutions, and government organizations nationwide.
Today, WeShield has been successfully placed on the map of leading PPE suppliers and serves customers including GAP, Caesars Entertainment, Hard Rock, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA), Concordance, Henry Schein, Medline, and more. The company is on track for substantial growth and projecting revenues over $100M. In June, WeShield was acquired by public company OPTEC. OPTEC is confident that this acquisition will generate additional market strength, profits, and shareholder value while simultaneously adding additional strength to OPTEC’s management team.
OPTEC CEO, Roger Pawson, commented “The acquisition of WeShield is complete. By adding an established AI-driven sales and marketing platform to OPTEC, we are confident we will immediately reap the rewards from adding WeShield’s team and tech to market and sell OPTEC products. In addition to these synergies, we expect to add over $100 million in 2021 projected sales from WeShield.”
The AI-driven company sources and distributes high-quality personal protective equipment and safety supplies to the largest hospitals, healthcare networks, and retail brands throughout the US. It has established itself as a reliable source of products and one of the leading suppliers in the industry. Due to the uninterrupted success, WeShield is positioned to continually generate a strong revenue growth rate in its key product lines. The key distinguisher behind this is that WeShield utilizes its extensive network to source products both “on the ground” and from manufacturers and distributors at a competitive market price.
“WeShield’s advantage includes the ability to successfully source any product as requested and is not limited to its product catalog of traditional PPE supplies but also delivers complex medical equipment,” explains Michael. After the acquisition, WeShield’s product portfolio has further widened and now delivers a varied range of medical products. The new portfolio includes UV-C LED disinfection devices, Fuel Maximizers, Off-Grid Solar Lighting, Trailer Mounted Solar Generators, and Z20—the Uber app for cleaning and sterilization. These wide-ranging products allow WeShield to stand out among its competitors. The products are environment-friendly and also affordable. The company imports the supplies via private cargo planes multiple times a week and has the experience, certifications, and connections to expedite the process and make it as affordable as possible. WeShield is continuously exploring new opportunities to further expand the product range and addressable market.
WeShield was established with a mission to help frontline workers similar to how the company extended help in the Indian subcontinent to mitigate the spread of the virus when they were at the height of crisis. The team of WeShield believes that people are free to live and work without risk to their wellbeing, thus the team tirelessly strives to make that a reality by creating a safer and cleaner environment—especially for the frontline workers fighting COVID-19. In the coming years, WeShield is determined to continually deliver environmentally friendly safety products and services at a competitive price and time.
WeShield was established in 2020, despite the economic instability and unemployment spreading worldwide. Michael and his team’s story is an inspiration for the entrepreneurs losing hope in the catastrophic business climate. He asserts, “WeShield was started by a group of entrepreneurs whose businesses were forced to shut down during the pandemic. One year later, the company has generated over 100m in revenue—a true testament to what relentless work ethic coupled with a passion for helping people can do.”
