Do we really need 1,236 shades of blue to choose from?

Growing up in India, I watched a paint company capture the minds of the Indian consumer (and grow to $2B revenue in the process) with a simple and yet powerful slogan: “Mera Wala Blue” (translation: my version of blue). This promise of infinite customization, made possible by the advent of in-store tinting machines, has become the hallmark of the paint industry worldwide.

As instinctively pleasing as it might be, infinite customization has also led to the current experience at Home Depot or Lowe’s. It’s not pretty. Customers are overwhelmed by the abundance of choice, experience poor in-store customer service, and often must go through multiple trips to the store with samples before finally landing on their very own “version of blue”. The $10B+ paint industry was begging for a ”Casper-fication” — i.e. simplifying choice.

With Clare, Nicole Gibbons has answered our prayers. Clare radically improves the customer experience by simplifying: 1. color selection (via a Color Genius that leverages Nicole’s interior design background) 2. sampling (via peel-and-stick swatches) and 3. logistics (your paint is delivered home in a few days).

Needless to say, when we heard from Nicole, we immediately felt in tune with her mission to make the process of picking a paint as enjoyable as browsing inspiration posts on Pinterest or Instagram. Clare has now inspired thousands to make their interiors better (with zero VOC) and to have fun doing it.

We are thrilled to announce our investment in Clare, alongside Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, First Round & Bullish, and are excited to witness the change the industry so desperately needs.

Like all these happy DIYers, try it out and #shareyourclare.

Blog originally posted on www.secocha.com on 24 August 2019.