Meet the Founder Fixing Construction’s Biggest Problem

Edwin Williams, never planned to be an entrepreneur. With a background in biology and mechanical engineering, he was used to strict protocols that made experiments repeatable and predictable. But starting a business? There is nothing predictable about that kind of experiment.

“I was hanging out with a group of entrepreneurs in St. Louis, and I kept asking, ‘How do you start a business?’” Williams recalls. “Their answer? ‘just start.’ I thought, what do you do? But there was no protocol, no clear path, just the willingness to dive in and figure it out as you go.”

After his mom hired a contractor who gutted her bathroom and then vanished without finishing the job, Williams started thinking about the lack of systems that allowed something like that to happen. Surely, others had been through similar frustrating experiences. That frustration led to his first startup idea: Perserbid. And just like that, that advice to “just start” became the foundation for Edwin’s journey.

“It was like a matchmaking service where homeowners would post jobs, contractors would bid on them, and we’d hold the money in escrow as the work got done,” Williams told us in an interview. “Great on paper. Bad in the market.”

Still, the core idea stuck with him: construction needed better tools. It wasn’t just about his mom’s experience anymore, Williams saw the gaps up close while working on a job site with a relative. The problem? A lack of efficient communication on construction sites.

“I remember just thinking, this is insane,” he said. “There were people standing around not knowing where to go, what was happening next, or if anyone had even shown up yet.”

That experience made it clear: It wasn’t just scheduling or paperwork causing the chaos, it was the day-to-day challenge of getting everyone on the same page. That disorganization sparked his next venture: ZenHammer.

ZenHammer has grown leaps and bounds since its early days. Williams originally built it as a simple “pocket office” for small subcontractors, Now, it’s a real-time communication and project visibility tool designed for all construction companies, general contractors, and specialty trades. And after months in stealth mode, the product is currently in early beta with select companies and is making its way towards a launch.

“If you ask a GC with multiple sites where their crews are, the answer is often, ‘I don’t know,’” Edwin said. “We want them to pick up their phone and instantly see what’s happening on every project.”

ZenHammer addresses one of the biggest pain points in the industry: broken communication. The goal is to create a two-way street where GCs can track progress, and subcontractors can show what’s been done, when, and by whom.

Something else that makes Zenhammer so special is that Williams is in the industry himself. This isn’t software built from the outside looking in. Williams currently serves as Vice Chair for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Associate’s Committee and holds leadership roles within the Home Builders Association of Tennessee (HBAT).

“I’m not building a product for strangers,” he said. “I’m building it for friends and family.”

Edwin’s story is a reminder that startups rarely follow the hockey-stick growth chart shown in investment offices across the country.. .  ZenHammer took years to mold and shape, and many founders would have given up if they had faced the challenges Edwin encountered on his journey…

 “There’s this myth out there that if you build it, they will come,” he told us. “I had that idea early on. But it doesn’t work like that. Building a startup is hard, and I’ve stared into the abyss more than I care to admit.”

Now, ZenHammer is moving faster than ever. With early partners using the tool in the field and real feedback shaping every next step, Edwin says he’s finally seeing what he hoped for from the beginning: momentum.

So what started as a bad personal experience with a contractor has grown into something much bigger: a startup built from the jobsite up, trying to fix the everyday friction of running projects and keeping everyone aligned.