In this episode, Aaron sits down with Chris Kiefer, founder of Boolean Automation and the PaintOS platform. Chris is an engineer by training who spent three years as marketing director at Webfoot Painting, where the company doubled from $10M to $20M in revenue. After other painting companies kept asking him to set up the systems he’d built, he started working as a “software integrator” for the industry. He helps owners cut through the noise of competing tools and build a tech stack around their business goals.

Aaron and Chris dig into what a good tech stack looks like, which tools to buy and which to build, why integration capability matters more than any single platform, and how to use AI without trusting it blindly. They also compare CRMs and project management tools, talk through software costs, and discuss why owners need to learn AI themselves rather than hand it off.

Key Takeaways

• Why a good tech stack starts with your vision for the business, not a software demo
• How to decide what to buy off the shelf (email, CRM, accounting) and what to build (estimating tools that capture your proprietary process)
• Why APIs, MCPs, and integration capability should be the first question you ask any software vendor
• The case for “the fewest tools possible, as many as necessary” over an all-in-one system
• A benchmark for technology spending (2-3% of gross revenue) and how to avoid being over-sold by software reps
• Why learning AI is today’s equivalent of learning to type, and how owners can build the skill

Connect with Our GuestChris on LinkedInEmail: chris@paintos.appWebsite: PaintOS

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Podcast website
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Episode Sponsors
The Wooster Brush Company
The Commercial Painting Industry Associate (CPIA)
DC Marketing Group

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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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Episode Summary

Two years after American Industrial Partners (AIP) acquired PPG's architectural coatings business and launched Pittsburgh Paint Company, Todd Gatesy and John Moore join the show to clear up the confusion contractors have been running into in the field. They discuss why some stores, trucks, and labels still say PPG, what's actually changed versus what hasn't, and how the distribution and dealer network works now. The conversation also gets into the private equity ownership timeline, rising raw material and paint prices, product quality, and where Todd and John see the biggest growth opportunities for commercial painting contractors over the next several years.

Key Takeaways

• The AIP acquisition and the move from PPG to Pittsburgh Paint Company
• PPG vs. Pittsburgh Paint: what's still PPG-branded and why
• Store footprint (500+ stores, 2,500 independent dealers) and how the dealer network fills coverage gaps
• The rebrand: timeline, what's changing and why product formulas aren't changing
• Private equity ownership and what a future sale could mean for the company
• Why paint prices went up and why price increases don't come back down

Connect with Our Guests

Todd Gatesy: tgatesy@pittsburghpaints.com | 239-270-4621

John Moore: johnmoore@pittsburghpaints.com | 724-683-1807

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

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, share and subscribe!