Today we’d like to introduce you to Xinyue Wu.

Xinyue, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hi everyone! I’m Xinyue Wu, the founder of PinPaint. My journey started with a desire to enhance positive emotions through everyday products. Initially, I launched XinyueDesign and participated in an art market hosted by AAAAH, where I showcased products like a picnic bag with a unique twist—you could select pins to customize and add to an existing scene on the bag. I also featured a comb that made the sound of rain. The first pop-up was a huge success, with the bags selling out and the combs gaining a lot of attention.

Inspired by the positive feedback, I decided to quit my job and fully commit to my small business. As I developed my brand, I realized that XinyueDesign felt a bit limiting, as it focused primarily on my designs. I wanted to create something more collaborative, where people could easily participate in the design process and express themselves in everyday life. This led to the creation of PinPaint, a brand where people can select pins to add their own elements to a pre-designed scene on the bags.

In today’s world filled with anxiety and uncertainty, I hope PinPaint can help more people rediscover the joy of imagination and the belief that life is still worth dreaming about.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. In the beginning, I didn’t have a stable customer base, and living in expensive New York made it even harder. I had to balance basic survival with finding the funds to develop new products. I still vividly remember standing on the freezing streets of New York, talking to potential customers. Some offered advice, while others supported me by purchasing my products. Slowly, I built our Instagram following by personally engaging with people—every follower was earned through those one-on-one conversations. Eventually, we hit 1,000 followers, and I finally had a small, loyal customer base.

One unexpected opportunity came when a street interview about me went viral on TikTok. But at the time, my products and sales system weren’t ready to handle a surge in attention, so I stayed focused on refining and developing the business rather than jumping on the moment.

Another challenge has been finding the right people to collaborate with. For instance, I recently ran into major delays with the web development team I hired. After weeks of waiting, the site they delivered had over 40 bugs. I had to spend an entire week fixing it with them over video calls, which was frustrating but necessary.

There have been many struggles along the way, but I’m truly grateful for the customers who have supported PinPaint so far, and I look forward to growing with everyone who will continue this journey with us!

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the customers who have supported PinPaint. One person’s efforts can only go so far—without you, we wouldn’t be where we are today. I vividly remember how hard it can be to step away from the booth for lunch during pop-ups, and one day, after a customer made a purchase, she returned just to bring me a snack she had bought. I was deeply touched by that gesture.

Many customers also reach out to share the joy they feel while creating their own designs, and they often tell me about the compliments they receive. Moving forward, we’ll accelerate product launches and introduce limited editions to create more exciting designs and stories.

In this busy world, we understand the struggles and effort it takes to grow, and just like you, we are always striving to improve. But together, we’ve already accomplished so much, and I believe there’s even more we can achieve side by side!

Contact Info:

• Website: pinpaint.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinpaint_official/

Image Credits
Cassie Zeng