Believe the Hype

Unless you walked around with blinders on at this year's NeoCon®, you've seen, heard about, or even tested out IdeaPaint, the innovative new workplace solution that gives traditional whiteboards a run for their money. The brainchild of three young entrepreneurs from Babson College—Jeff Avallon, John Goscha, and Morgen Newman—IdeaPaint is a patented, single-coat paint that can transform any surface into a high-performance dry-erase board. Newman says that the concept originated when the trio was working on a college project, and they posted up big pieces of paper on the walls as writing surfaces. They realized the need for this product existed, wrote it up as a business plan at college, and spent the next six years in product development, fine tuning what may prove to be the best high-performing dry-erase surface on the market.

"So many dry-erase surfaces simply do not work—they don't really erase," Newman says. "From day one, we decided to spend money on development—over-development, even. We took our time and wanted to take the product category by storm." Avallon outlines their very clear and concise but not-so-easily attained product objectives: They sought to create a dry-erase paint that works with every dry-erase marker on the market. Users have to be able to leave the marks on the board for as long as they want without staining the surface. "Ghosting just cannot happen, and that's directly related to durability," stresses Avallon, regarding the faint remnant left on the surface after erasing marks. And the final criteria was that any professional painter should be able to install the paint. The IdeaPaint team hired a third party lab to test and retest the surface against every other dry-erase board on the market until they were sure that they created the most durable, high-performance product possible. "We had to develop the chemistry and prove that it works, then test the application process to ensure any professional can install it," Avallon explains. "We finally got it right."

Just under the wire, the concept of IdeaPaint came together a mere five weeks before NeoCon® 2008. They partnered with MDC Wallcovering to display product in its space at the show, the Web site and marketing materials were finalized, and the three savvy businessmen planned how they'd really leave their mark on the biggest U.S. trade show for commercial furniture.

Besides being completely innovative, IdeaPaint also is environmentally sound, as it does not off-gas once dry because it contains no formaldehyde, it uses minimal materials—it's just paint!—it's easily replaced (just scuff, prime, and repaint), and it reduces fossil fuels for shipping since one quart covers 50 sq. ft. of surface. "The beauty of starting your own business is that you get to decide pricing," reveals Avallon. "We decided to price ourselves lower than any competitors." And it remains a cost-effective solution since paint is already worked into a project budget, so there's no additional cost.

"We not only were starting a business, but also a whole new product category," Avallon says. "We're trying to sell something different—a tool for innovation, a total dynamic environment, not just a dry-erase product. MDC had the national sales and marketing force to help us sell to the right people."

And although IdeaPaint drove heavy foot traffic to MDC's 10th floor showroom, Avallon says, "We didn't just want booth space. We wanted to inspire interaction and collaboration." To encourage people to use the product, they covered The Merchandise Mart in IdeaPaint, painting over 3,000 sq. ft. of surfaces to be exact, from the pillars at the main entrance, to vertical surface at the Kinzie Street entrance, to the full wall outside the seventh floor press room, to 15 columns in the main eating area. To make the surfaces more eye-catching, they hired 25 muralists to draw all day and erase their work every 15 minutes. Their job was to engage passersby and encourage them to try out the product. This marketing tactic could not have worked out better. IdeaPaint literally was the talk of NeoCon®—so much so that when the Best of NeoCon® jury (who ultimately awarded IdeaPaint Gold and Innovation Awards) walked away from the presentation, one juror said of the IdeaPaint team, "Wow, I think we just met the next Bill Gates." Reader Service No. 200

Click here to see a video of IdeaPaint's launch at NeoCon® 2008.