ideapaint
IdeaPaint exists to inspire and encourage everyone, every day to reach their creative and productive potential. Our signature product, a high-performing dry erase paint, transforms virtually any smooth surface into an erasable canvas, giving people the space they need to fully explore their big ideas. The magic of IdeaPaint lies in its ability to transform passive space into active environments—to spur the collaborative spirit that lives within all of us, and accelerate ideation for better, faster results.
We are the creator of the high-performance dry erase paint category. It’s advanced chemistry, but profoundly low-tech. IdeaPaint has brought the human element back to more than 150,000 offices, schools and homes around the world by simply getting people on their feet, working together and exploring their creativity wherever ideas happen. Our company has been celebrated by the likes of The Wall Street Journal, Mashable, Fast Company and CNBC as a tool that has a profound impact on the process, experience and outcome of bringing ideas to life.
Our premium dry erase paint is available in a variety of formulas that cater to commercial, educational and residential customers, and is the gold standard for durability and performance. Our PULL system pairs our dry erase technology with powerful magnetic functionality.
Our products are available in over 50 countries around the world through our website and our various distribution partners. IdeaPaint ships directly to the United States. Customers outside of these countries, can buy IdeaPaint through our global distribution partners.
Founding Story
IdeaPaint was founded by John Goscha in 2002 as a college freshman. The “idea” for IdeaPaint came out of a brainstorming session in the e-tower, a dorm for entrepreneurs at Babson College (Wellesley, MA). True to the entrepreneurial spirit of the school, the students decided to cover their walls in large sheets of paper to write down their ideas. As their ideas grew the paper became filled with writing and had to be torn down and replaced– writing on the walls was great, but there had to be a better way! Classmate Andrew Foley suggested and looked for a paint that could turn every wall in their dorm into a dry erase writing surface. Surprised to find this paint didn’t already exist, John and a third classmate William Gioielli set out to find one while Andrew began working on the business plan and created the name IdeaPaint. When students and visitors from across campus began stopping by to write on the wall, the team knew they were on to something!
However, taking IdeaPaint from a concept to a viable product would prove to be challenging. In 2003, Babson awarded IdeaPaint with seed funding and John began work with an outside lab. After working with the lab for over a year the lab concluded the concept was technically impossible. In 2005, classmate Alex Galperin revitalized the idea with John, introduced him to a second lab, and provided initial capital.
In 2006 John graduated from Babson, secured additional “angel funding” and assumed the full time role of President (2006-2009). Although William, Alex and Andrew had all moved on to pursue new interests … they encouraged John to keep at it and wished him well. After two labs had concluded it was technically impossible to manufacture a dry erase paint with the performance needed to compete with white boards, John enlisted the help of Marty Donbrosky at CAS-MI Laboratories in Michigan.
Through their persistence and skill, John and Marty (co-inventors) successfully created the first dry-erase paint product for IdeaPaint that showed true commercial promise. Late in 2006 and early 2007 respectively, John invited two other former Babson classmates Jeff Avallon and Morgen Newman to join the company. From then until IdeaPaint’s launch in June of 2008, the three friends and classmates worked together on a plan to commercially launch IdeaPaint’s first product, IdeaPaint Pro. IdeaPaint launched in a big way at a Chicago Trade Show, NEOCON, in June of 2008, where IdeaPaint won numerous prestigious awards. In the spring of 2008, IdeaPaint met with Dennis Baldwin, Managing Partner of Breakaway Ventures and Former Chief Marketing Officer of Reebok, who fueled IdeaPaint with a $5 Million Series A financing round that closed in August of 2008.
After the first major round of financing was completed, the company was able to invest in much needed additional headcount to drive brand growth. John continued overseeing all product development as VP of R&D until he left the company to pursue a new venture in the spring of 2010. At this same time, Jeff Avallon assumed the role of VP of Business Development which he continues to maintain today as a full time employee of IdeaPaint. Since John’s departure in the spring of 2010, he has remained a valued advisor and significant shareholder in the company. “I look forward to the company bringing great products to market that inspire creativity and innovation in all of our customers for many years to come.”