“How –40° door knocking led me to building anAI company

From cold sales to code — the unlikely path that connected everything

We’ve made huge strides building OutreachGenius, but when I pause and look back, it’s wild how clearly the dots now connect…

I started with a passion for technology

I studied software engineering, fascinated by what code could do

But something in me felt like that wasn’t enough

I needed real-world pressure

So I started a home services business, a College Pro franchise — painting houses while completing my degree

What followed was the school of brutal hard knocks

I was out knocking on doors in -40-degree winters just to get my first customers

I completed hundreds of estimates myself

I closed multiple hundreds of thousands in sales

I hired and trained crews, and managed all the chaos that came with that

I built a business that paid my way through university and supported my loved ones

At the time, I didn’t realize what I was building

But now?

I see how every part of that journey — the cold door knocks, the failed quote, the…