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Painting a room often feels like a race against the clock. The moment you pour the paint into a plastic liner, the countdown begins. You have only a few hours before the edges begin to dry, the roller clumps, and the entire tray turns into a sticky, unusable mess. For decades, the only solution to pausing a weekend paint job was wrapping a flimsy plastic grocery bag over the tray and praying for the best.
Every year, an estimated 240 million plastic paint trays and liners are thrown into American landfills. It is a wasteful, messy, and highly frustrating process for DIYers and contractors alike. This exact frustration is what drove an Iowa mom to completely reinvent the paint tray from her basement, ultimately landing her in front of the Sharks on national television.
If you are wondering what happened to Repaint Studios after its memorable Shark Tank appearance, here is the comprehensive 2026 update on the company's financials, retail expansion, and the reality of partnering with home improvement royalty.
What is Repaint Studios?
Repaint Studios is an eco-friendly home improvement brand that designs reusable, waste-reducing painting supplies. The brand’s hero product is the Repaint Tray, a heavy-duty, three-piece painting system built to replace single-use plastic liners forever.
The system consists of a highly durable metal base (often referred to by the founder as the "Yeti of paint trays"), a flexible, reusable silicone liner, and an airtight lid. The true magic of the product lies in its ability to pause time. If a DIYer needs to step away from a project, they simply snap the airtight lid onto the tray, keeping the paint and roller fresh for up to 21 days.
Once the painting job is completely finished, users do not need to scrub the tray in their sink and wash harmful chemicals down the drain. Instead, they let the leftover paint dry completely. Because the liner is made of high-grade silicone, the dried paint easily peels right out in one satisfying sheet, leaving the tray perfectly clean and ready for the next project.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Company | Repaint Studios |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Core Product | The Repaint Tray (Reusable Silicone System) |
| Industry | Home Improvement / DIY Paint Supplies |
| Target Audience | DIY weekend warriors, furniture flippers, and professionals |
| Retail Price | $39.95 |
Who is the Founder of Repaint Studios?
Repaint Studios was founded by Billie Asmus, a mother of two and avid DIYer from Iowa Falls, Iowa. Her journey from a basement furniture flipper to a national CEO is a masterclass in hustle and resourcefulness.
In early 2021, Asmus was running a small side business refurbishing and repainting old furniture. She quickly grew tired of the endless cycle of buying flimsy plastic tray liners, wasting paint, and filling her trash cans. Believing there had to be a better way, she scoured the internet for a reusable silicone paint tray. To her shock, absolutely nothing existed.
Instead of waiting for a major hardware brand to invent it, Asmus decided to build it herself. She reverse-engineered a prototype using dollar-store foam board and Hollywood-grade mold-making silicone. Within a week, she had a working prototype. However, the road to manufacturing was brutal. She faced countless rejections from suppliers and even had her first manufacturer attempt to steal her designs.
Determined to see it through, Asmus took a massive financial risk. She completely emptied her 401(k) retirement savings and sold personal belongings to scrape together the $35,000 needed for the steel injection molding tooling.
Before she even had physical inventory to ship, her sheer persistence managed to get her product listed in Lowe's retail stores. This grassroots hustle set the stage perfectly for her national television debut.
Repaint Studios Shark Tank Journey & Pitch
Billie Asmus walked into the Tank during Shark Tank Season 17, Episode 3 (which aired in October 2025). This was a uniquely special episode because it featured guest Sharks Chip and Joanna Gaines, the legendary founders of the Magnolia network and the Fixer Upper empire. For a home improvement product, there were no better investors to pitch.
Asmus confidently asked the Sharks for $250,000 in exchange for 5% equity, implying a steep $5 million valuation.
She demonstrated how the airtight lid and silicone liner worked, letting the Sharks peel dried paint from the sample trays themselves. Daniel Lubetzky noted how oddly satisfying the peeling process was.
Kevin O'Leary immediately drilled into the numbers. Asmus revealed that the tray retailed for $39.95, and through sheer negotiation, she had recently dropped her landed manufacturing cost from $13.00 down to $10.50 per unit.
While the broadcast only showed about ten minutes of footage, Asmus was actually in the Tank for nearly an hour. During an unaired moment, Chip Gaines literally jumped up and down on her metal tray to test its durability, and it survived without a dent.
The negotiation phase moved fast. Lori Greiner opted out because she had previously invested in a competing product called the Touch Up Cup and felt it was a conflict of interest. Daniel Lubetzky also dropped out.
Kevin O'Leary liked the margins but hated the $5 million valuation. He offered $250,000 for 20% equity. Barbara Corcoran immediately swooped in, undercutting Kevin with an offer of $250,000 for 15%.
Seeing the obvious synergy, Joanna Gaines asked about the long-term vision. Asmus confidently stated she wanted to build an entire ecosystem of reusable paint supplies, including bucket liners and trim trays.
Sensing a massive retail opportunity, Chip Gaines suggested they partner up. He offered to take 5% equity alongside Joanna, while Barbara took the remaining 10%, fully funding the $250,000 at a 15% combined stake. Asmus gleefully accepted the powerhouse trio's offer.
| Pitch Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Entrepreneur | Billie Asmus |
| Initial Ask | $250,000 for 5% equity |
| Initial Valuation | $5,000,000 |
| Sharks in the Room | Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, Daniel Lubetzky, Barbara Corcoran, Chip & Joanna Gaines |
| Offers Made | Kevin O'Leary ($250k for 20%), Barbara Corcoran + Chip & Joanna Gaines ($250k for 15%) |
| Final Deal | $250,000 for 15% equity (Barbara Corcoran, Chip & Joanna Gaines) |
What Happened to Repaint Studios After Shark Tank?
The "Shark Tank Effect" hit Repaint Studios immediately. Within hours of the broadcast, orders came flooding into their website. Asmus took to Instagram to document the sheer volume of shipping labels her small team was printing. The company was quickly featured on Good Morning America and across local Midwest news networks.
Interestingly, Asmus noted in a post-show interview that her episode aired during a coincidental consumer boycott of Disney/Hulu, which slightly softened the live viewership traffic. However, the viral clips of Chip, Joanna, and Barbara testing the product on social media more than made up for any lost live viewers.
Following the handshake on television, the grueling due diligence process began. By late 2025 and early 2026, Asmus confirmed that the deal was moving forward smoothly, with all three Sharks publicly expressing their excitement on Instagram about partnering with the Iowa-based brand.
Is Repaint Studios Still in Business?
Yes, Repaint Studios is fully operational and experiencing aggressive growth. The company has successfully evolved from a direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand into a major retail player.
Today, the Repaint Tray can be found not just online, but on the physical shelves of heavy-hitting hardware chains like The Home Depot, Lowe's, and Ace Hardware. This retail footprint is crucial for the brand's survival, as contractors and DIYers often purchase paint supplies on impulse exactly when they are buying their liquid paint.
Furthermore, Repaint Studios has expanded its product catalog. They now offer replacement silicone liners, standalone airtight lids, international shipping specifically designed for standard 9-inch American rollers, and a dedicated "take-back program." If a silicone liner ever becomes damaged, customers can mail it back to Repaint Studios to be fully recycled, staying true to Asmus' original eco-friendly mission.
What is the Valuation & Net Worth of Repaint Studios?
When Billie Asmus walked into the Tank, she valued her company at an ambitious $5 million. However, the final handshake deal with Barbara Corcoran and the Gaines family ($250,000 for 15% equity) locked in a finalized post-money valuation of $1,666,666.
The exact private revenue numbers for Repaint Studios are not fully public. However, considering the heavy volume of their inventory orders, their $29+ gross profit margin per tray sold direct-to-consumer, and their massive expansion into The Home Depot, business analysts estimate the company is currently generating seven figures in annual revenue.
Because Asmus retained 85% ownership of her company, her estimated net worth derived strictly from her business equity sits comfortably over $1.4 million, a massive leap from the days of emptying her 401(k) to buy a single steel mold.
Where to Buy the Repaint Tray?
For consumers looking to test the product themselves, the Repaint Tray is highly accessible. The primary point of purchase remains the official Repaint Studios website, which offers exclusive bundles, replacement parts, and direct customer support.
For those who need the tray immediately for a weekend project, the product is actively stocked at The Home Depot (retailing for exactly $39.95), Lowe's, and select Ace Hardware locations nationwide.
Are Repaint Tray Reviews Actually Good?
Taking a close look at the verified customer reviews from major retailers like The Home Depot, the Repaint Tray holds a solid 4.1 out of 5-star rating. The majority of buyers rave about the airtight lid.
DIY moms and casual weekend painters note that leaving a wet roller inside the tray for two weeks and returning to perfectly wet, usable paint is a game-changer. The heavy-duty steel base is also frequently praised for feeling incredibly stable on ladders and drop cloths compared to cheap, bending plastic trays.
However, the reviews do highlight a slight learning curve. Some professional painters noted that in order for the dried paint to easily "peel" out of the silicone liner in one satisfying sheet, you must leave a relatively thick coat of paint in the bottom of the tray.
If the paint layer is too thin, it can be tedious to scrape out. Additionally, a few contractors pushed back on the $40 initial price tag, though most agree that not having to buy replacement plastic liners ever again quickly covers the upfront investment.
