We Don’t Make Money If Our Interns Don’t: How Our Incentives Actually Work

Most “opportunities” are built so the company wins no matter what.

They sell you a “program,” charge a fee, and if you quit or never produce, they still got paid. That misalignment is why so many college kids (and their parents) feel burned.

We built Grit x Forge the opposite way:

If our interns don’t make money, we don’t make money.

That’s not a slogan. It’s literally how the model works.

How We Actually Get Paid

Our business only makes money one way:

• An intern sells a pest control account

• The customer gets serviced and pays their bill

• The pest company pays a commission

That commission is split between:

• The intern (the majority), and

• Us as the company (the override that funds leaders, housing, training, etc.)

No sale → no active, paying account → no commission → no revenue for us.

That’s a performance-based setup. If we don’t help a rep produce, we don’t get paid. This is the same kind of “if I don’t perform, I don’t get paid” structure I talk about as the strongest form of implied guarantee.

There are no program fees and no “pay to play.”
Your performance is the product.

Why That Forces Us To Train Harder Than Most

When a company makes its money on seats (fees, tuition, retainers), they’re incentivized to:

• Pack as many people in as possible

• Spend more on marketing than on training

• Tolerate high churn, because revenue came up front

We can’t afford that.

For us:

• Training is a cost until you’re successful.

• Role plays, field rides, meetings, content, leadership time… we eat all of that up front.

• Every failed intern is a net loss.

We paid to source, onboard, house, support… and got nothing back. That hurts.

We only scale what works.

It’s in our direct financial interest to refine scripts, territories, coaching, and systems so that a higher percentage of interns get to real checks, fast. That’s increasing the “perceived likelihood of achievement” side of the value equation in a very literal way.

In plain English:

If you don’t win, we bleed. So we behave like a partner, not a landlord.

What That Means For You (And Your Parents)

Because our upside is locked to your results:

• We tell you the hard parts up front (rejection, heat, long days). We can’t sell you a fantasy and then hope you don’t notice.

• We screen for mindset, not just a pulse. We’d rather have fewer, more serious interns than a bloated, failing crew.

• We obsess over skills, habits, and support, not hype. Scripts, objections, daily coaching, and clear expectations beat motivational posters.

You’re not “labor” to us. You’re the engine.
If the engine doesn’t run, the car doesn’t move and nobody gets paid.

Who This Is (And Isn’t) For

This model is great if you’re:

• Okay with “eat what you kill” instead of guaranteed hourly pay

• Willing to be coached and judged on a scoreboard

• More interested in real skills + real earnings than a comfy bullet point on a resume

It’s not for you if:

• You want guaranteed income regardless of performance

• You dislike being measured, pushed, or challenged

• You want an easy summer more than a transformative one

Our $10K Earnings Floor (If You Hold Up Your End)

We believe in this model enough to put a floor under it.

If you commit to the full program and meet the standards we lay out in writing, you shouldn’t walk away with nothing.

So we’ve built a $10,000 earnings floor for eligible interns who:

• Finish the full 12 week internship

• Work the hours

• Demonstrating real effort through tracked inputs

• Attend ≥ 90% of required trainings/meetings

• Average ~1 deal/day after the first 21 days of practice

• Have no policy issues

If, after holding up your end, your total commissions come in below $10,000, we’ll make up the difference up to that floor.

In plain English:

If you do the work we agree on and don’t at least hit $10K in earnings, we lose money and pay you anyway.

Why would we do that?

Because it forces us to behave the way we say we do:

• We can’t “over-staff and hope.” Every intern we accept becomes a financial commitment.

• We’re heavily incentivized to train, coach, and support you into being productive as fast as possible.

• We only win after you do.

The exact terms, criteria, and eligibility are spelled out clearly in writing before you ever sign. No fine-print surprises, no “gotchas.” It’s our way of backing up everything in this article with real dollars, not just nice words.

Why We’re Comfortable Being This Transparent

When your incentives are aligned with the people you serve, you don’t have to hide the math.

Performance-based offers are powerful because they say, “If we don’t perform, you don’t pay.” We built Grit x Forge on that same principle for our interns.

If you’re curious how this plays out day-to-day, read the “Day in the Life” article.

If you’ve read this and feel more excited than scared, you’re probably our kind of person.