nicole gibbons

Interior designer Nicole Gibbons set out to 'take the pain out of paint' through her brand Clare where she has pioneered an easier, faster, and more inspiring way to shop for paint.

Fast Company proclaimed “The Warby Parker of paint is here” and Nicole has just been named one of Inc’s 100 Women Building America's Most Innovative and Ambitious Businesses.

In a fascinating conversation, we dive into sustainability, physical retail experiences versus D2C, Clare’s unique brand language, and of course, the meaning behind the brand’s name, which could have easily been Nicole, but ended up being Clare. And you will get to know the very misleading and dangerous side of the paint industry.

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Nicole Gibbons wants to change how we make our homes beautiful. “My aspiration was to be the next Martha Stewart,” she says, and she's on her way. The former PR rep has leveraged years of networking, blogging, media experience, and PR savvy to launch Clare, a direct-to-consumer business selling interior paint.

In this week's episode, Gibbons gives us behind-the-scenes access to how she landed an on-air hosting gig soon after leaving her day job (hint: it involves a lot of networking!), and how she used that opportunity to get VC funding and launch Clare as a brand. We also talk about the unexpected visibility of being a Black entrepreneur in 2020, how the pandemic enabled online shopping for unexpected products, and why networking and creating relationships really is that important. Clare is now taking aim on an industry dominated by legacy brands with nine-digit valuations, and Gibbons feels prepared. “A lot of time was put in before it was actually successful,” and she's now ready to go global.

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Designed to bring the expert to you, Clare simplifies the paint shopping process. The direct-to-consumer brand opts for a focused color selection, user-friendly sample swatches, and an intuitive color picking guide. By bringing together her personal and professional experiences, founder Nicole Gibbons is hoping to build a brand that’s primed for the long haul.

On this episode, Nicole explains why she choose to launch with a solution for the entire paint shopping process (6:28). She talks about predicting the lifetime value of their customer (9:56) and shaping a brand that sells to the DIY and professional markets (11:17). She shares the through line in her career (12:57) and how she built an audience at the height of the recession (17:39). She talks about exploring the licensing model, and choosing, ultimately, to operate on her terms (27:30), no matter the challenges (42:01).

Links and images from this post are on the Lumi Blog.