From IdeaPaint’s early days, it was apparent the product shouldn’t be bound to the confines of any existing product category.
Our greatest challenge—and also what excited us the most—was that we were creating and defining an entirely new category and the best part was (and still is) that we got to make the rules.
Along the way, we were a bit naïve at times.
But, our lack of industry experience and preconceived limitations fueled more creative results (that worked!), all while teaching us a few very valuable lessons.
Naiveté #1: Let’s build an entire team out of non-paint industry people
Lesson: Make it your own
The Inside Scoop: Every kit of IdeaPaint has two cans that get mixed together – people in the paint industry call this a two-component product and typically label the two cans A and B. The paint people told us we had to label IdeaPaint the same way. But our team, with no knowledge of the paint industry, was always confused: “So do I pour A into B or B into A?” “Is B the little can or the big can?” It wasn’t long before one of our brilliant teammates came up with a creative and obvious solution: label our cans THIS and THAT. Now, customers love it when they open our kit and instructions and see “Pour THIS into THAT and stir”. Any chance we have to let our customers see our company culture is another chance to make them believers.