[chairmanwow1]

>> “Hey HN, I'm working on a project for school and need to learn a bit more about the revenue model of custom software dev firms.”

I used this trick A LOT in college to get secrets from companies. My friends and I would call some people and tell them we were trying to understand something for a report. It was amazing how much secret information people were willing to share.

One of the most powerful assets you have as a student is that .edu email address.

[ctvo]

> It was amazing how much secret information people were willing to share.

Was it secret information or did they spell things out much more clearly for you because there was no assumption that you had prior knowledge? This tends to happen to journalists also, for the same reasons.

See the replies in this thread for examples of people clearly spelling out things step-by-step. It's not secret information. When you take away any assumption of expertise, it may seem that way to someone not involved in the industry.

[chairmanwow1]

Absolutely. They gave revenue numbers, they told me how they marketed, how they retained customers, if it was a good deal for the customers.

I think there’s some element of explaining things, especially if you come across as naive and interested in what they are doing.

[waheoo]

I dunno, if my competitor emailed me I would be pretty tight lipped.

A student, not so much.

Its not game over of competition finds out but I don't need to hand it to them.

[Cancan82]

This is 100% true. Almost everyone loves the interested student, but the moment you get a work email address the cold phone calls and emails receive less warm receptions.

Take advantage of it while you can.

[larrik]

Mostly because salespeople will use the same tricks to sell you stuff after you open up.

[gist]

It's also a predictably lazy and obvious way to do this. No creativity at all. I can think of better ways to social engineer the HN community to spend time 'delivering the goods'.

> One of the most powerful assets you have as a student is that .edu email address.

I don't feel an .edu is even needed at all. I have an .edu as an alumni even and I graduated a long long long time ago.

Fwiw I did this also pre internet yes people do reveal all sorts of things to students. Old school though it's a bit more difficult.

[elevenoh]

>that .edu email address.

I don't think many care whether it comes from a .edu, or something like a student-appearance twitter account.