Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

onhand.pro

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 201 posts

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#171

Post by tezclarke »

foobarian wrote: post #166
lotsofpulp wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> which is actually quite basic - pest control is a big, good business to be in and it's possible to build a very big, profitable business by doing the simple things right, consistently. I would have thought the opposite because pest control is the easiest thing to DIY for most people. All the insecticides and traps and knowledge for what to use is available online, there is usually no emergency so research can be do…

My biggest problem with a service like pest control is I can't tell what it does. I'm not talking about getting rid of a hornet nest or squirrels in the attic, I'm talking about the door-to-door salespeople who want you to subscribe to a quarterly sprinkling of some magic dust around your house. If I could get a trustworthy measurement like "number of 2x4s not destroyed by carpenter ants" or "sqft of siding not rotte…

For the d2d residential services, you're buying peace of mind and usually the provider will guartantee the service. E.g. if you see ants and you're not due a visit until next month, they'll drop in and sort it.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#172

Post by tezclarke »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #132
tezclarke wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On "venture or nothing" - This will be my second company and this time round I have stripped right back to the problem, which is actually quite basic - pest control is a big, good business to be in and it's possible to build a very big, profitable business by doing the simple things right, consistently. It will compound over time if the basics are done right (which is harder to do than I thought before this experimen…

> which is actually quite basic - pest control is a big, good business to be in and it's possible to build a very big, profitable business by doing the simple things right, consistently. I would have thought the opposite because pest control is the easiest thing to DIY for most people. All the insecticides and traps and knowledge for what to use is available online, there is usually no emergency so research can be do…

On residential - lots of people don't want to get their hands dirty. For commercial - it's rarely worth doing in-house and in manufacturing / food industries getting it wrong can lead to fines / closure losing contracts, so it's not worth penny pinching.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#174

Post by tdb7893 »

isatty wrote: post #62

The possum is a friend and not a pest though. I hope you aren’t killing them :(

Possums are stinky bastards but I love them so much! Juvenile possums are shockingly adorable, just look at these little guys!

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Baby_opos...)

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#175

Post by yardie »

guzfip wrote: post #153
seibelj wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My neighbor is the best wallpaper guy in the city, which you’d think is extremely niche but wallpaper has come back in a big way. All sorts of businesses out there for those who identify needs and service wants. And the best way to know about a business is to work for an established one first

I’ve always wondered how the hell things like vacuum repair shops and other niche stores I still see around from time to time are still around. It’s not that I don’t think anyone would choose to repair their vacuum. It’s more that I can’t imagine they get enough volume to pay the lease/rent/bills on whatever commercial property they’re on.

The smart ones will own their shop outright. If not, they are on a longterm lease.

Also, don't knock it, a quality vacuum like a Kirby or Miele will go decades, are incredibly quiet, and just need maintenance on wear and tear, which these repair shops provide. I think we got used to thinks being terrible. Like my Dyson, does good work, it's also very loud compared to my financially secure friend's Miele.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#176

Post by JDEW »

yardie wrote: post #175
guzfip wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve always wondered how the hell things like vacuum repair shops and other niche stores I still see around from time to time are still around. It’s not that I don’t think anyone would choose to repair their vacuum. It’s more that I can’t imagine they get enough volume to pay the lease/rent/bills on whatever commercial property they’re on.

The smart ones will own their shop outright. If not, they are on a longterm lease. Also, don't knock it, a quality vacuum like a Kirby or Miele will go decades, are incredibly quiet, and just need maintenance on wear and tear, which these repair shops provide. I think we got used to thinks being terrible. Like my Dyson, does good work, it's also very loud compared to my financially secure friend's Miele.

> Like my Dyson…

Which is wild because a Dyson has a premium price tag.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#177

Post by _spduchamp »

I like this idea of building your own software to run your own business rather than trying to sell software.

My wife and I run a small chain of second-hand clothing stores that buy from the public, and we run it on our own custom software built on top of a rails e-commerce engine. (Solidus) We don't do anything online, but instead use the engine to run our point-of-sale and credit system. We have one part-time developer who works from home and occasionally comes and works directly with the staff in the stores, and now she leans a little on Claude for assistance.

I would never want the hassle of trying to make our system work for other companies. I love that we have a system that can adapt and change based on our needs without being beholden to some else's SaaS.

If we were to rebuild it all today, we'd probably lean even harder on Claude, but still work using a good open source e-commerce framework.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#178

Post by SoftTalker »

mememememememo wrote: post #66
gnarcoregrizz wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah. there absolutely are lots of very smart and capable people outside of tech. as someone who has seen the blue collar world "up close" (family businesses), its a different breed... the culture and attitude gap is enormous. shockingly so. most tech workers I know couldn't hang (don't hustle as hard, risk averse, liberal), but some skills may transfer, like problem solving and diagnosis, i.e. debugging.

Why is risk averse a thing. Blue collar jobs are just jobs unless you are going self employed and buying all the gear etc.

> buying all the gear

Most blue collar jobs require this. A mechanic usually has to provide his own tools. This can be tens of thousands of dollars just for a basic set that lets you do standard jobs. Then you might have specialty tools for specific equipment.

Even a framer or roofer is bringing his own hammers, saws, PPE, and anything else that's required. You don't just roll up to a job and get handed everything you need like a software job.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#179

Post by SoftTalker »

lelanthran wrote: post #122
DrewADesign wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, brains transfer to any job, and it’s tough to be a developer if you’re genuinely stupid. So in that respect, sure. But I’m definitely not saying that developers aren’t smart enough to do blue collar work.

> But I’m definitely not saying that developers aren’t smart enough to do blue collar work. Fine. I'll say it: developers aren't smart enough to survive a blue collar environment. My credentials? I worked in a factory in my youth. 12hr shifts, nightshift only, 7 days a week, on assembly lines. Your average developer is definitely not risk averse enough to keep all their limbs. Where I worked, two people on two differ…

Well to be fair the risk of "npm install on your daily driver without sand boxing" is that you might have to wipe and reinstall everything, or even deal with a persistent malware and loss of data. There's no risk of going home missing a limb. That sort of risk does tend to grab your attention a lot more.

Re: I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control, so I took a technician job

#180

Post by g947o »

teleforce wrote: post #80

>I built my own training GPT and passed in 13 days, which was a company record. The training manager knew I'd built the app but never showed an interest, which makes sense: it could replace about a quarter of his role. I'd really love to read a dedicated article on this side project. Apparently, Karpathy is into AI based education business with Eureka Labs [1]. [1] Introducing Eureka Labs: https://eurekalabs.ai/

The whole thing looks dead. I followed a few links but couldn't find anything meaningful that comes out of this.
Post reply on HN