If you are a contractor who cannot find enough reliable people for the jobs you are winning, or a skilled worker tired of chasing relevant job opportunities, Hammerloop is built with you in mind. This new, bilingual hiring platform is designed specifically for construction and the trades and is already earning early traction and recognition through the Accelerate California Innovation Award. Co-founder and CFO Eric Vaughan, who leads the platform’s tech and finance strategy, joined us for an in-depth conversation about what Hammerloop is solving and why now is the right time for it. In this first feature in our UTHH Hammerloop spotlight series, we take a closer look at why this app could become a go-to tool for connecting talent and jobs across the AEC world.
How Hammerloop started
Hammerloop began with a simple but stubborn problem that kept showing up on job sites across the Bay Area: contractors could not find enough people to work. Founder and CEO Chris “CJ” Simmons saw this firsthand during his decade as a rental equipment rep, a role that put him inside countless offices, yards, and field trailers across every trade you can think of.
“If I had a nickel for every time I heard a contractor say I just got awarded all these jobs, but I don’t know where I’m going to find guys, I would be rich,” says Simmons. After hearing the same hiring frustrations again and again, he realized this was not an occasional pinch point. It was a full-blown industry pattern.
Whether talking to painters, roofers, flooring crews, or mechanical contractors, everyone was running into the same brick wall. When Simmons asked how they were actually finding labor, the answers didn’t exactly scream ‘twenty-first-century solution.’ “The number one overarching method that I would get from all contractors… is by far word of mouth,” he says.
That realization sparked the idea that would eventually become Hammerloop: if this many people across this many trades were facing the same challenge, it was time for a tool built specifically for them.
A lightbulb moment
The idea for Hammerloop came when Simmons literally swiped left while scrolling through dating apps on a weekend. As he looked at how these platforms matched people based on location, interests, and quick profile interactions, something clicked: If apps could connect people looking for relationships, why couldn’t the same approach connect contractors with the workers they desperately needed, and vice versa? “The labor gap shrinks when everbody centralizes,” Simmons said.
A familiar, easy-to-use interface. Instant and distinct matching. Clear profiles. Real-time notifications. A system built for busy people on their phones. The concept was simple but powerful: take what already works in one area and adapt it to one that has been asking for better tools for years.
What Hammerloop does
Hammerloop is built with one goal in mind: to make hiring in construction as fast and straightforward as it should be. Instead of forcing contractors and workers onto generic job boards, it delivers a simple, intuitive platform designed specifically for construction and the blue-collar trades.
Demo view of company profile, courtesy of Hammerloop.
At its core, Hammerloop matches people based on two things that actually matter in this industry: where you are and what you do. The platform is both geo-based and trade-based, so the jobs you see are relevant and close by. Creating a profile feels familiar, too, because it’s modeled after the same mobile behaviors workers already use every day. “If you catch construction workers at breaks or lunch, guess what they’re doing? They’re scrolling,” says Simmons. “Hammerloop meets them right there.”
For workers, the experience is as quick as it gets. “A job pops, they hit a button, and their profile goes right over,” says Simmons. That simplicity is exactly what makes Hammerloop stand out. It removes friction, closes gaps, and gets people talking faster than any traditional hiring channel.
Demo view of public worker profile, courtesy of Hammerloop.
“We are a two-sided platform. We enhance communication. It’s direct, and it is quick,” Vaughan adds. For contractors, it means direct access to thousands of potential hires without the usual back-and-forth or guesswork. It’s a true two-sided platform that encourages transparency, direct communication, and real market visibility.
What makes Hammerloop different
Far from being another job board with a construction label slapped on it, Hammerloop was built from the ground up to serve the real needs of the industry, and that shows in several key ways.
1. Built for all trades, not just residential
Many platforms in this space either focus on a single slice of construction or rely on outdated hiring models. “Some create a database… and then sell people access. We already know it is a failed model,” says Vaughan.
Hammerloop takes a different approach. It supports every trade, every level of experience, and every job type, from day labor to specialty contractors.
2. Bilingual from day one
The workforce is changing, and a huge portion of skilled labor has been overlooked for far too long. “Fifty percent of the construction labor workforce is comprised of Spanish-speaking individuals,” Simmons says. “And they are hugely glossed over.”
One of Hammerloop’s biggest differentiators is its commitment to serving the Spanish-speaking workforce. Instead of building the English platform first and retrofitting translation later, the team built both versions in parallel. “We built it so that it was bilingual from the get-go… an absolute differentiation maker,” Vaughan says.
3. Wage transparency and real-time job visibility
Think Glassdoor, but designed for the trades and updated in real time. “We provide transparency that just is not there,” says Vaughan. Workers can finally see what local contractors are offering and compare opportunities with a level of clarity the industry has never really had.
4. Affordable hiring for contractors
While other platforms charge steep fees or require expensive subscriptions, Hammerloop gives contractors unlimited job postings for a small, predictable cost that can be shut off when they’re not hiring. It is intentionally designed to be a fraction of what employers pay on traditional hiring platforms or staffing agencies, making hiring accessible to companies of all sizes, not just those with big recruiting budgets.
5. Early traction and momentum
Even in its infancy, Hammerloop is already connecting workers and employers across multiple states. The team is seeing active communication on the backend and early job placements that validate what the platform was built to do. “We have documented cases of individuals finding their next employment opportunity,” says Simmons. “We see employers and job-seekers communicating on the backend.”
Notification and job process demo, courtesy of Hammerloop.
And right now, the first 1,000 people to sign up get free lifetime access. “We’re not recording it at this point because it’s an open system, it’s not gated yet,” Vaughan adds. “We really want to get the enthusiasm up, and get that first thousand, where it’s free for life.”
Want a free lifetime membership to Hammerloop? Use this link to become an early member and get unlimited access to a growing network of contractors and trade workers.
Over the next month, the team plans to follow up with early users to gather testimonials and success stories that show how the platform is working in real time. These early wins offer a promising glimpse of what widespread adoption could look like.
Award recognition: Accelerate California Innovation Award
Before Hammerloop even hits the broader market, it has already earned a major stamp of approval from the state of California. The team completed a four to five-month accelerator at California State University, Bakersfield, working alongside tech startups, manufacturers, and other emerging companies. The program wrapped up with a pitch competition judged by a venture capitalist, a business professor, and an entrepreneur. Hammerloop walked away the winner.
From there, things moved quickly. Their pitch was strong enough to secure a $50,000 state grant, making Hammerloop one of only 10 startups selected from roughly 150 to 170 applicants. “It was a huge market validation,” Simmons says. “It was a phenomenal moment when we received the intent to award.”
The bigger vision
While Hammerloop is launching with a powerful hiring tool, the long-term vision is much bigger. The founders see it evolving into a one-stop hub where anyone in the industry can access the tools, services, and connections they need throughout their career.
Here is where they see it going:
- Hiring and job matching
- Vendor connections
- Member-contributed blogs
- Equipment classifieds and online auctions
- Insurance and legal resources
- Education and training (apprenticeship and workforce development programs)
- Networking for contractors and workers
- An accessibility point for emerging technologies
- Events
Simmons likens it to the AAA model. “Beyond roadside assistance, you can also get car insurance, you can get discounts on hotels and restaurants by becoming a member,” says Simmons. “[With Hammerloop,] if you are a member of the construction industry, you have a profile there, and you can access different types of resources. We want to be the focal point of connecting people within the construction industry.”
Hammerloop aims to build a community beyond a simple job tool, which could make it a game-changer for the AEC sector.
Why Hammerloop matters right now
The timing is perfect for a platform like Hammerloop, and couldn’t be more urgent. The construction industry is staring down a projected shortage of nearly 500,000 workers in the next year, and every contractor, large or small, is feeling the pinch. Traditional hiring methods are too slow, too expensive, or simply not built for the realities of skilled trades.
What the industry needs is a faster, easier, and more transparent way to connect people with opportunities. Hammerloop steps in exactly where the gap has been widening for years, meeting workers where they already are: on their phones.
It’s easy hiring built for real workflows and real habits. “This is a very fast-paced, rapidly changing industry. Indeed, Monster and ZipRecruiter are just not suited for construction,” Simmons says.
Hammerloop matches the rhythm of construction. It brings speed, clarity, and connection to a workforce that has been underserved for too long. In a time when companies are desperate for talent, and workers want better access to opportunities, Hammerloop offers a practical path forward to both parties.
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