I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control. I took a technician job instead.SearchHomeLoginSign UpHomePostsI wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control. I took a technician job instead.I wanted to build vertical SaaS for pest control. I took a technician job instead.Not a shadowing day or research interview - a real job.Terry ClarkeMar 22, 2026Background checks, company phone, drug tests, exams, and a truck that wouldn't start on day one.How it startedI'd been doing white-collar sales consulting work for companies selling into traditional industries, and noticed companies have become less likely to offer their time for ride-alongs and research calls. They get too many requests, and vibe coding is drawing their attention to self-build.I grew up helping out with our family plumbing business back home, so getting my hands dirty is second nature.I was ready for a change from white-collar work.I decided to go back to blue-collar for real.Why pest control?I was helping a renovation company with go-to market consulting. One of their projects was a beautiful home for a guy who sold his pest control company a few years back.He built the company over 20 years and adopted the vertical SaaS of the day from the very beginning, while competitors didn't. He knew the software had played a big part in the success.The more he told me, the more I liked the sound of it: recurring revenue, specialization, fragmented, regulated, $30B TAM in the US.That night, I applied to every pest control company in the area.I wanted to work in pest control.Getting the job (and getting ignored)Three days in, barely anyone had replied, so I started showing up in person. I got three ride-along offers on the first day. Two converted to job offers.I accepted a role at a subsidiary of one of the biggest groups in the country doing $B's in revenue through a nationwide portfolio of local brands.Over the next couple of months, I only heard back from half the companies I'd reached out to. Even in a tight labor market, companies drop the ball on recruitment.It turned out that getting the job was the easier part.13 days to licensed (company record)Getting licensed isn't a formality. It involves book study, seminars, a proctored exam, and enough supervised truck time to handle controlled products independently. Most companies take two to three months to ramp a new tech, paying them the whole time - a real sunk cost if they don't work out.I built my own training GPT from books I’d bought, 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.Now I was ready to get in the truck.My field rep pest control licenseGetting in the truck (it broke)Fleet ops took three weeks to source my truck, which had a flat battery on day one.My fuel card took 5+ weeks and didn't work initially. I was paying out of pocket and claiming back through the expenses app that took 2–3 weeks to repay. Not great when most techs are working paycheck to paycheck.The core system was built on Salesforce, modified so heavily that ripping it out felt unthinkable, even though it was clunky and techs complained. Onboarding required registering for 10+ apps on the company phone. I used maybe two of them.The company monitored everything - truck idling, GPS, time per visit, phone activity and so on. The techs had workarounds for all of it, but everyone pulled their weight and the group wouldn’t tolerate slackers.The techs started calling me "undercover boss" in the group chat.How I earned the nicknameWhile shadowing a senior tech, I got talking to the client and made a small upsell. There was no training for this, but it's a big opportunity while boots are on the ground.They offered me a sales role shortly after, which I accepted.That same evening, I mapped every prospect in my territory, built a workflow to reach out, and waited for the results to come in.$30k ARR inside 21 daysI closed a $24k annual contract with a shopping center sourced from my outbound campaign, plus a few smaller upsells to existing clients.The internal quoting process nearly lost me the $24k deal. It required multiple signatures and yet another account to be created by corporate.Sales training was a Zoominfo webinar. Most reps drove around their territory in their company vehicle (free fuel) and visited in person. The top guys had 10+ years experience and were selling $800k to $1.2m ARR with very low churn - although nobody had the specific figure.Their business is doing great, but it could be so much better.Employees don’t want to rock the boat and there’s no incentive to push for improvements. It’s safer to stay in their lane.That’s why selling SaaS or AI to this kind of company isn’t for me - I’d rather focus my energy on building a company from my own principles, and hire people who share them from the beginning.Exit interview: “Why don’t you start your own company?”When I told my manager I was leaving, he said I should start my own company and give him a call when I do.So that's what I'm doing.We have an acquisition of a small residential operator lined up, which we'll build the tooling for and grow a platform around once we’ve proven the model works and can scale.If you've built, invested in, or rolled up a home services business, I'd love to chat.ReplyLogin or Subscribe to participateKeep ReadingView morecaret-rightTerry's NewsletterWriting for service pros, manufacturers, startups and SMBsSubscribe© 2026 Terry's Newsletter.Report abusePrivacy policyTerms of usebeehiivPowered by beehiiv0

Terry Clarke’s narrative details a pragmatic, almost circuitous, path toward building a vertical SaaS business within the pest control industry. The story highlights the realities of entering a traditionally fragmented and regulated sector, and underscores the importance of adaptability and independent thinking. Clarke’s initial ambition to create a SaaS solution was tempered by a necessary immersion in the field, beginning with a technician role at a sizable pest control group. This experience, while initially frustrating due to operational inefficiencies and a lack of strategic vision within the company, ultimately provided invaluable insights and served as the foundation for Clarke’s subsequent venture.

The impetus for the shift from white-collar sales consulting to a blue-collar position stemmed from a desire for hands-on experience and a growing interest in the vertical SaaS model, sparked by the success of a competitor who had adopted the technology early and leveraged it effectively. This competitor’s story—built on a 20-year foundation of utilizing vertical SaaS—demonstrated the significant impact that software could have on the industry, reinforcing the potential for recurring revenue and specialization. Clarke’s rapid application of this knowledge led to a targeted job search, ultimately securing a position with the national pest control group.

The hiring process itself reveals a common challenge within the industry: companies struggle to provide adequate research and shadowing opportunities, a trend that Clarke directly addressed. His self-directed effort, including building a custom GPT utilizing textbooks, allowed him to complete the required licensing in a remarkably short 13 days, surpassing the company’s record and exposing a potential redundancy in the training manager's role. This proactive approach demonstrated a key characteristic – a willingness to challenge established processes and leverage personal initiative. Despite this success, Clarke immediately encountered operational hurdles – a delayed truck acquisition, problematic fuel cards, and a clunky, Salesforce-based system that frustrated technicians.

The company's monitoring of tech activity—tracking truck idling, GPS data, and phone usage—generated the moniker "undercover boss" within the team, illustrating the tension between corporate oversight and the practical realities of field work. This situation further fueled Clarke’s determination to innovate, culminating in a successful upsell opportunity—demonstrating his sales aptitude and revealing the significant potential for proactive revenue generation while on-site. That sales success, achieved through a targeted outbound campaign and a remarkably quick $24,000 annual contract, underscored the viability of the business model.

However, the internal sales process itself highlighted systemic challenges within the company, showcasing a reactive and bureaucratic approach to quoting and account management—obstacles that underscored Clarke’s core principle: a focus on building a company rooted in his own principles, prioritizing efficiency and adaptability. This realization solidified his decision to explore independent ventures, driven by the opportunity to avoid the limitations inherent in established organizations. His manager’s encouragement to pursue his own company further cemented his resolve, motivating him to pursue the acquisition of a small residential operator, aiming to build a platform around it, a strategy emphasizing a bottom-up approach based on proven scalability. Ultimately, Clarke’s journey represents a compelling case study of entrepreneurial spirit and the importance of identifying and addressing unmet needs within a specific industry, demonstrating a fundamental shift from reactive adoption to proactive innovation.