Not a shadowing day or research interview - a real job.

Hacker News is a community-driven platform for sharing and discussing technology news, startups, and programming-related topics. Through user submissions and comments, Hacker News offers insights into emerging technology trends, industry developments, and entrepreneurial ventures. Readers can participate in discussions, share their insights, and stay informed about the latest advancements in technology and innovation.

Hacker News

A GTM consultant, frustrated by declining access to research interviews in traditional industries, took an actual job as a pest control technician to understand the market from the inside. Over several months, he got licensed in 13 days using a custom training GPT, transitioned into a sales role, and closed $30k ARR in 21 days. The experience revealed deep operational inefficiencies — a heavily modified Salesforce stack, fragmented tooling, slow internal processes, and a culture resistant to change. Rather than selling SaaS to incumbents, he decided to acquire a local operator, build tooling around it, and grow a platform from first principles.

I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control. I took a technician job instead.