My grandfather opened our paint store back in 1934 on 120 Fifth Street in Harlem, New York City. He had to leave for a few years after being drafted into the Navy, and during that time, his sister ran the business. When he returned, he expanded into paint manufacturing in the South Bronx, so we had both the store and the plant. I got into the business around 2005. At that point, my dad and uncle were running things, and Harlem was still a rough neighborhood. I was working in finance, but I started worrying that they might sell the business. We owned some real estate in the area, and I saw the long-term potential of the neighborhood. Manhattan was only moving in one direction—gentrification was happening fast—and I felt like if I didn’t step in, they might just retire and sell everything. So, I decided to give it a shot, and here I am almost twenty years later.
Our business is hyper-focused on paint—probably too much so compared to other stores that sell hardware as well. About 90% of our customers are commercial clients: hotels, hospitals, schools, property management companies, museums, and churches. Everyone needs paint. That’s the beauty of it. Every building, every apartment is a potential customer. We also work closely with contractors, including some of the biggest painting contractors in the city. What sets us apart is our relationships. Customers could buy from hundreds of other suppliers, but we focus on giving them the best service, the best pricing, and a true partnership rather than just a transaction.
For the longest time, we ran our business the same way my grandfather did—with pen and paper. We had a bookkeeper who started with us in 1975 as a new immigrant from India. He handled everything—accounts payable, receivable, payroll, taxes—you name it. When he retired in 2020, we knew we needed a better system. We explored other software options, like Decor Fusion, but they felt too complicated for where we were coming from. That’s when I came across Rundoo. At first, I wasn’t ready, and I told them I’d reach out when the time was right. But eventually, I saw that Rundoo’s system was simple, easy to use, and adaptable to our needs. Even my uncle, who isn’t the most tech-savvy, could use it.
One of the biggest improvements was being able to remove prices from delivery receipts. In New York City’s highly competitive paint market, having pricing details floating around was a risk. Rundoo quickly implemented an option to print receipts without prices, which was a game-changer. Another great feature was the ability to adjust sales tax on the fly. Before, we had to manually set up tax-exempt clients in the system. Now, if a customer walks in with a tax-exempt form, we can remove the tax instantly without setting up a profile.
Rundoo has made a huge difference in how we run our business. The team is incredibly responsive to feedback, constantly improving the system to fit our needs. While we started as an old-school, pen-and-paper operation, Rundoo has helped us modernize without losing the personal touch that has kept us successful for nearly a century. The transition has been smooth, and with Rundoo, we’re more efficient, organized, and ready for continued growth.
