Callahan Reynolds spent his teenage years learning that red paint needs more coats than navy and when to best wield a foam roller versus a paintbrush.
His dad founded Reynolds Painting Group FL, which focuses on commercial properties and counts projects like Water Street Tampa and Disney World among its roster. Reynolds began working for the company when he was 15.
"It was very cool to say I got to be a part of building Tampa," he said.
But while painting knowledge was ingrained in Reynolds, he wondered about the average person trying to paint an accent wall at home.
"I thought to myself, 'How would a homeowner know much paint they would need?' and 'How much it would cost to paint their own home?'" he said.
His business idea began to form two years ago. He went to home repair stores like Home Depot to take an informal poll, asking shoppers how many return trips they had to take when they realized they didn't get enough of, or the right type of, paint for their home projects. The consensus?
"People said, 'I went to the store three times for my painting project,'" he said, adding he thinks that's on the low end of return trips. "They all thought [my idea] sounded great, and I did the research and found out there is nothing out there. So, I decided to do it myself."
Reynolds, a 20-year-old University of Tampa senior, is now working on an artificial intelligence-enabled solution dubbed iPaint. The app, which is still in the works, would allow users to scan the space they plan to paint — be it an accent wall, exterior or door — and find out exactly how much paint and other materials are needed.
It's an all-in-one alternative to other solutions like hiring a professional painter, using a home repair store's measurement calculator that doesn't include the materials needed, or using sites like YouTube.
"There is not one set package to tell you everything," Reynolds said.
This is Reynolds' first startup, which he plans to launch within the next year while concurrently working for Reynolds Painting Group FL. It is bootstrapped as of now, although Reynolds added he has won roughly $5,500 in prizes from pitch competitions at UT and the University of South Florida.
He is also in the UT Spartans accelerator program and majoring in entrepreneurship, set to graduate this May to pursue iPaint full time.
"UT has helped me so much; I really enjoy having professors that are actually entrepreneurs, that are teaching us about their own personal experiences," he said. "And then bringing in other people that still actively building companies and selling them; they're great to talk to because you can only teach so much by a book."
Reynolds is in Tampa Bay Inno's 2022 lineup of 25 Under 25. Get the full list here.
