In 2020, I quit my job to pursue my small business of refinishing furniture full-time. Little did I know that a simple idea I had while washing my paint brushes, would forever change my life.I was tired of the plastic waste with traditional paint tray liners and wanted something reusable. Plus, I needed a way to save my paint when my kids woke up from naps or needed my attention. After a deep dive on Amazon and Google, nothing showed up. So, I quickly filed a patent and created my first prototype for The Repaint Tray.The Repaint Tray is an eco-friendly, reusable, silicone paint tray liner with a lid. It makes clean-up faster, saving your projects easier, and helps reduce over 240 million plastic paint tray liners entering landfills each year.In the summer of 2021, I became pregnant with our second child but still wanted to pursue The Repaint Tray. I went back to school to better understand how to develop a product from scratch. By the end of the semester, I won 3rd place in the final pitch competition and my official patent was filed just two weeks before our son was born.I quickly jumped back into research, interviewing, and figuring out how to grow and develop a product. Most days, I had Zoom meetings with my son strapped in a carrier or in my arms. Four months after he was born, I found out I was named one of Iowa's Top 10 startups, and had the opportunity to pitch at a statewide competition. I walked away with 3rd place and $5,000.After several roadblocks and sleepless nights, we officially launched into the market on February 1st, 2024 and sold out of our first run of inventory within 4 months. Within 6 months of launching, we had signed deals with 6 independent retailers, as well as Lowe's and Home Depot to bring the Repaint Tray nationwide.