Yes Paint only started a year and a half ago, but my brother Walter and I aren’t new to the painting and hardware industry. We used to work for a big corporation called Builders FirstSource in a branch called Curtis and Campbell. It was a family-owned business. The problem was, that once the box stores showed up in Anchorage, Curtis and Campbell couldn’t compete. Walter and I had never considered opening our own store, but soon after the shop's closure I was approached by Jason Smith and Steve Ramsey from Yes Enterprises asking if Walter and I wanted to open a paint store with them as part of Yes Enterprises. The rest is history!
I'd been in the business for such a long time, so when Walter and I joined Yes Paint, we had a big following of contractors and other folks. We didn't realize how many people knew us and valued what we did. I think the main reason we had this following is that we always valued customer service. We're always joking with our customers, and everything we do is customer-driven. We probably started with 30 accounts at Yes Paints, and now we're in triple digits! Though we are relatively new, we have our eyes on growth. We’re planning to open additional locations in the next few years.
One of the things that has helped us make this business great is Rundoo. Before Rundoo we were using a point-of-sale system from a company out of Australia called Cin7 - we had been using it for about 6-8 months before we got a call from Nick. When we saw Rundoo the first thing I thought was how much I loved Nick’s vision. Rundoo was being built from scratch for guys like me. They were listening directly to what their customers wanted and what was going to make our job easier. Other companies have a product and you have to work around it - Rundoo was working around us.
Their system didn’t only look good but the setup and use of it was so easy; it's great! Honestly, I think most people would feel the same way if they played around with it. Yes Paints is very much a family-run business, and my 17-year-old daughter is working for us part-time. She'd never used a point-of-sale system before, but after about 3 hours of using Rundoo she turned to me and said, “This is so easy, I got this.” Everyone on my team picked it up so quickly; it's fantastic. With most other systems, it takes a lot of training since a point-of-sale system is such an important part of daily business. It's crucial that all the staff can use it properly and enjoy using it too!
One reason my daughter learned so quickly and the system is so great is due to its evolution. Honestly, it's like comparing night and day when looking back at the initial system I saw. The thing about Rundoo is the team constantly takes feedback and improves the product. For example, Rundoo recently introduced new features like journal entries and added capabilities to their analytics tab. These were things I needed help with when purchasing as a general manager, and Rundoo added some of these capabilities for me. It's hard to explain how much Rundoo has made my job and life so much easier.
I really noticed the awesome vision of the company when Nick and Joe came up to Anchorage to help me set up for the go-live on January 18, 2023. After we got things set up, I took them to Thursday night at the fights (a local rough-house boxing match), and after dinner at a local restaurant next door. At the end of the meal, Nick pointed to the point-of-sale system they were using called Toast and said, "That right there will be Rundoo one day, but us as the point-of-sale for every paint store”. To this day I still believe that.
