JD & Liza Kameen

Paintru makes it simple to commission a painting from a photo, or decor inspiration.

Turning A Gift For Your Spouse Into a Business

“The reality of running a startup when you’re in the daily trenches is that it’s so customer focused. If we took our eye off the customer for half a day, everything would become really challenging. You become rather myopic at concentrating on the day-to-day.”

• What was your first action?

  Finding a partner who knew how to do something like this

• What's the biggest joy of running your business?

  You are always trying to figure the next thing out

• How do you manage work, life, and Paintru responsibilities?

  Between being new parents and managing our respective full-time jobs, it’s very difficult. to balance everything. But building a team and partners that we can lean on has been crucial.

In attempt to commission the painting of a photo from their honeymoon, JD & Liza Kameen unknowingly stumbled upon an opportunity to start their own business. Paintru, a startup that makes it easy to commission art, has received recognition in numerous publications and successfully completed a fundraising round. I sit down with these cofounders to talk about their experience launching Paintru and how they've managed the risk of this venture. These new parents are running Paintru while maintaining their respective, full-time careers. Additionally, Liza is completing business school part-time and JD is finishing his time as a Marine officer. We discuss the importance of knowing what "fills your cup" and managing the constant demands on your time and energy as an entrepreneur.

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