From Employees to Owners: Building Pro Paint Solutions with Mike Barrett & Bill Curtindale

In this episode, Aaron sits down with Mike Barrett and Bill Curtindale, co-founders of Pro Paint Solutions in the Seattle metro area. Both Mike and Bill spent years as employees and eventually senior leaders at another commercial painting company before striking out on their own in March 2021. Now five years in, they share how they built a profitable, debt-free business, kept their 50/50 partnership strong, and set a plan to step back from day-to-day operations over the next five years.

This conversation is especially relevant for painting company owners worried about key employees leaving to start competing businesses, and for employees weighing whether to make the leap into ownership themselves.

Key Takeaways

How Mike and Bill's decade-plus at a former employer shaped their approach to ownership
Why it only took about three months to go from "we should consider this" to launch day
The cultural commitments they made to avoid repeating their former employer's mistakes
How they built a debt-free, self-funded company from year one
What they track weekly to stay fiscally disciplined and catch problems early

How a 50/50 partnership survives disagreements without a tiebreaker
Their 10-year plan to grow to $15M in revenue and step back from daily operations

Connect with Our Guests

Bill on LinkedIn

Mike on LinkedIn

Website: Pro Paint Solutions

Connect with Us

⁠⁠⁠Podcast website⁠⁠⁠

Request a FREE 1-Hour Consultation with David Chism

Episode Sponsors

⁠The Wooster Brush Company⁠

⁠⁠⁠The Commercial Painting Industry Associate⁠⁠⁠ (CPIA)

DC Marketing Group

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