Cohesive: The Agentic CRM Helping Blue-Collar Businesses Scale with AI

In the dynamic world of blue-collar services—janitorial, landscaping, HVAC, pest control, and pressure washing—growth often feels out of reach. Many business owners are hands-on operators, frequently in the field themselves, managing client relationships and delivering services with little time or energy left for sales and marketing.

Despite strong demand for their work, these businesses struggle to secure new contracts. Why? Because growth is usually outsourced, left in the hands of third-party virtual assistants, marketing agencies, or platforms that promise leads for a fee. While convenient, this dependency limits long-term scalability and autonomy. Over 1 million such businesses across the U.S. face this bottleneck daily, operating in a reactive rather than proactive way.

How does Cohesive solve this problem?

Cohesive flips the script for blue-collar entrepreneurs. Instead of relying on external vendors, Cohesive’s agentic CRM empowers service businesses to bring growth in-house, without increasing headcount or overhead.

But what is an “agentic CRM”? At its core, Cohesive leverages AI agents to automate end-to-end customer acquisition, enabling local business owners to scale while staying focused on serving clients. From identifying prospects to managing outreach and follow-ups, Cohesive acts like a digital sales assistant that never sleeps.

Here’s what it does:

• Market Research: Builds a constantly updated list of commercial property owners and local business contacts within a user’s service area.
• Smart Outreach: Launches targeted email and phone outreach campaigns to qualify interest, handle responses, and update CRM records in real time.
• Signal Monitoring: Tracks external business events like store openings, contract endings, or staffing changes—then triggers timely follow-ups.

Cohesive is not just automation—it’s intelligent action. This allows owners to focus on service delivery, while growth happens in the background.

Who are the founders behind Cohesive?

The brains behind Cohesive are Kevin Zhang and Nam Nguyen, a duo with the rare mix of industry insight and deep technical expertise.

• Kevin Zhang (CEO) is a former product leader at ChartHop, an HR-tech startup backed by a16z. Before that, he was a McKinsey consultant working with large national service franchises on go-to-market strategies. With a degree in Economics from Duke University and previous entrepreneurial experience scaling a $50K MRR service business, Kevin brings both strategic and operational insight to Cohesive.
• Nam Nguyen (CTO) brings the technical firepower. Previously a founding engineer at Starlight (a fintech startup backed by South Park Commons and General Catalyst), Nam also worked as a machine learning engineer at Microsoft, where he built large language model-based recommendation engines. He holds degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics from Williams College and has a passion for systems programming and solving complex problems.

Together, Kevin and Nam blend complementary skill sets, having already proven their partnership with a prior business venture. They founded Cohesive in 2024 to give blue-collar operators the tools they wish they had as service entrepreneurs.

How is Cohesive different from traditional CRMs?

Most CRMs—like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zoho—require users to manually enter data, manage contact lists, and initiate outreach. These platforms are powerful, but they’re built for teams that can dedicate time and personnel to manage them.

Cohesive is agentic, meaning it acts on behalf of the user autonomously. Think of it like having a junior sales team built into your software. You don’t just track leads—you generate them. You don’t just see reminders—you watch your CRM execute follow-ups based on real-world triggers.

The key distinctions:

• Proactive vs. Reactive: Traditional CRMs are passive tools. Cohesive is an active system.
• Automation that thinks: Instead of simple workflows or scripts, Cohesive’s agents can make decisions, like when to re-engage or when to escalate.
• Built for the field: Designed specifically for businesses where the owner is not behind a desk all day.

In essence, Cohesive brings enterprise-level growth infrastructure to small local businesses, without the complexity or cost.

What kinds of businesses are using Cohesive today?

Cohesive already serves over 350 commercial cleaning, landscaping, HVAC, and pest control companies, many of whom were previously reliant on agencies or ad platforms to generate leads. These business owners have found that with Cohesive, they can drive consistent outreach without lifting a finger.

One customer even joked that the platform was so valuable, they were willing to buy the founders' NBA floor tickets—even if it was for the league’s worst team.

The feedback has been clear: Cohesive is not just another SaaS product—it’s an indispensable teammate.

What’s the long-term vision for Cohesive?

Cohesive’s mission goes beyond just building software—it aims to level the playing field for blue-collar entrepreneurs. By giving them access to sophisticated AI-powered tools, the company enables these business owners to own their growth, reduce costs, and scale sustainably.

As AI becomes more embedded in how businesses operate, Cohesive sees itself as the default operating layer for local service providers, handling growth, customer interactions, and eventually even operational logistics.

With a focus on agency and automation, Cohesive envisions a future where:

• A one-person landscaping business can grow into a multi-region operation
• Janitorial companies can scale without paying thousands to lead-gen firms
• HVAC teams can book new business without pausing service delivery

Cohesive isn’t just building tech—it’s reshaping the trajectory of service businesses.

Why does Cohesive matter right now?

The timing couldn’t be more critical. With generative AI capabilities accelerating, many small business sectors are at a turning point: those who adopt AI early will widen their competitive edge, while those who delay may find themselves at a disadvantage.

Service industries—long neglected by SaaS innovation—are ripe for transformation. By targeting this underserved but massive market, Cohesive stands out not just as a CRM but as a movement toward empowering overlooked entrepreneurs.

As Kevin and Nam like to say: “We help service business owners take control of their own destiny.” And in a world of outsourced growth, that control is more valuable than ever.

Final Thoughts: Can AI help local businesses scale smarter?

Cohesive’s journey is a powerful testament to what’s possible when cutting-edge AI is applied to everyday problems. For years, tech revolutions have primarily benefited the digital economy. Cohesive is part of a new wave—bringing AI to the physical world, one cleaning contract, one HVAC lead, and one landscaping job at a time.

In doing so, it doesn’t just build a better CRM. It builds hope, independence, and real opportunity for the workers who keep our communities running.