Co-Founder of Pink Picasso

Just a few years ago, Ashley Silfies was “staring at the wall” of her apartment, trying to think of a way to make more money to support her new wife, Brittany, and their three children.

“She actually was sitting there, looking at the wall, and she said, ‘What skills do I have?’” Brittany said on Friday’s episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank.” “Photography and manufacturing were her background.”

Put them together, and you get Pink Picasso, a Birmingham, Alamaba-based start-up that the couple launched in 2019. The company turns photos taken by a host of photographers, including Ashley, into paint-by-numbers kits — each packaged in a cardboard tube that holds a rolled-up canvas, paintbrushes and a set of acrylic paints.

Two years ago, the couple said, they spent $1,500 on initial products. By the time of the “Shark Tank” episode’s taping, they said they were on pace to bring in more than $5 million in 2021 gross revenue. Their kits are in more than 2,000 boutique stores nationwide, and available on Pink Picasso’s website, Ashley said.