Entrepreneur AT 50, SHE POSTED A PAINTED TABLE ON FACEBOOK. IT BECAME A $100M COMPANY

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Heirloom Traditions Paintallinonepaint.com

Heirloom Traditions ALL-IN-ONE Paint, your #1 DIY specialty paint resource for cabinets, front doors, countertops, furniture, leather/vinyl and more!

Why it worked

The story is inspirational and relatable, showing how a common person can achieve massive success through entrepreneurship and a good product. The "rags to riches" narrative and focus on a woman entrepreneur over 50 likely resonated with a broad audience.

Summary

This slideshow tells the story of Paula Blankenship, who turned a Facebook post about a painted table into a $100 million company called Heirloom Traditions Paint. It details her journey from a single post to building a successful e-commerce business.

Structure

1The Spark: From a Facebook post to an idea for a paint business.
2The Build: Starting small on eBay and growing sales.
3The Bet: Investing personal funds to scale the business.

Original caption

Paula Blankenship posted a photo of a painted dining table on Facebook in 2013 at age 50 — and the comments from people who wanted to learn how she'd done it convinced her to start a paint business. Heirloom Traditions Paint now brings in $31 million a year, employs 60 people and is valued at over $100 million. This is the story of Heirloom Traditions Paint.

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Heirloom Traditions Paint is the subject of the story, detailing its founding and growth. Various paint products and color swatches are shown.

On-screen text

Entrepreneur AT 50, SHE POSTED A PAINTED TABLE ON FACEBOOK. IT BECAME A $100M COMPANY THE SPARK Paula Blankenship posted a photo of a table she'd painted on Facebook. People wanted to know how she'd done it. She thought everyone knew how to paint furniture. They didn't. Heirloom Traditions Paint was born. THE BUILD Paula tracked down a local paint manufacturer, ordered 100 gallons of chalk paint in 50 custom colors and listed it on eBay. Her initial goal was $100 in sales a day. Within a month she was hitting $200. JUST OPEN THE JAR THE BET When Paula's husband lost his job in insurance, she asked him to go all-in with her. He had $100K in severance. She sold land for $80K. They pushed everything to the middle and said: one more round. THE PIVOT After building a network of 300 retailers, Paula pivoted to DTC, developed an all-in- one paint product that bonded to virtually any surface and started running Facebook ads — with a video she shot on her iPhone. THE GROWTH Heirloom Traditions brought in $31M last year and is valued at more than $100M. The company employs 60 people, granted half the business to employees and is opening a new campus in Taylorsville, Kentucky. THE LESSON: IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START Paula started Heirloom Traditions at 50 with a Facebook post. Every chapter of her story was built by someone who followed an instinct, adapted when it stopped working and pushed all her chips in when it mattered. The business rewarded every single bet.