Photo courtesy of Evolve Construction & Restoration
Jay “Jaser” Zaabri has been on the receiving end of a bad contractor, a bad partner, a bad relationship. He knows what it feels like to wait for a crew that does not show, to receive a bill that does not match the quote, and to watch a problem that should have been fixed get worse because someone cut corners. That personal history did not make him bitter. It made him precise.
Today, Zaabri leads Evolve Construction & Restoration, a company that has completed 7,500+ projects across more than 35 markets in the United States, Canada, and Australia, accumulating $170+ million in total revenue and a set of written guarantees that hold whether the job is in Sherman Oaks, Calgary, or Parklea, New South Wales. What sits behind those numbers is a founder who built his company around a single conviction: that the people who call a contractor after a disaster deserve better than the industry has traditionally given them.
What Getting It Wrong Taught Him
Zaabri has spoken openly about the experiences that shaped how he runs the business. He has been in legal battles with partners who owed him money, lost significant sums fighting for what was rightfully his, and navigated circumstances that would have ended most ventures before they found their footing. Those years did not produce a cautious operator. They produced a disciplined one.
The company he built reflects that discipline at every level. Field teams carry IICRC and HAAG certifications. Every project is backed by a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee and a 60-day completion pledge. A live professional answers the emergency line around the clock. Clients receive a closeout packet including photos, logs, and invoices within five business days of project completion. None of that happened because it was easy. It happened because Zaabri knew exactly what the alternative looked like from the homeowner’s side of the door.
“Homeowners deserve clear answers, fair pricing, and work that holds up long after the inspection,” he said. That standard runs through roofing, siding, windows, gutters, water and mold remediation, fire and smoke recovery, and full kitchen and bathroom remodels across residential and commercial properties in three countries.
The Decision to Keep Growing
Staying regional would have been easier. Evolve was founded in Florida, where hurricane season creates sustained, unforgiving demand for roofing and restoration work that most contractors are simply not equipped to handle at scale. That environment forged the company’s early operating standards, and Zaabri chose to carry them outward rather than remain comfortable within a single state. The company pushed into Texas, then across the Midwest, then through the South, and into the Mountain West.
Each market required the company to learn something new. Gulf Coast humidity behaves differently from California wildfire ash. Alberta winters stress structures in ways that Florida summers never would. The New South Wales regulatory framework operates under its own licensing and occupational health requirements, entirely separate from American standards. Zaabri’s response to that complexity was consistent: hire people who know the local conditions, train them to the company’s standards, and hold both to the same accountability that every signed client agreement demands.
The company now serves clients from Chicago to Houston, Dallas to Denver, Nashville to Atlanta, Buffalo to Charlotte, and from Calgary and Edmonton in Canada to Parklea outside Sydney. Revenue has grown at 166.67 percent year over year. The pace has not dulled the attention to individual projects. A company that abandons its standards at scale eventually abandons its clients. Zaabri has structured Evolve to make that outcome structurally difficult.
The Part That Has Nothing to Do With Revenue
Zaabri measures what he has built in more than completed projects and financial figures. Through its partnership with the It’s 4 the Kids Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, in 2026, Evolve contributes $50 toward the Drums of Hope program with every signed agreement and matches any customer donation of a half or full barrel. The target this year is 280,000 donated meals, a number that rises in direct proportion to how many jobs the company takes on.
The Evolve Foundation runs parallel programs that provide micro-grants and property assistance to veterans and homeowners who need additional support to cover restoration costs. Together, the programs have directed $2.5 million toward community restoration and relief. Zaabri does not separate giving from the business model. Every signed agreement generates both a restored property and a contribution to someone who cannot afford their own.
“We built Evolve around accountability. If we say we will do it, we do it, and we stand behind it,” he said. That statement carries more weight when you trace where he started: a founder who knew firsthand what it meant to be let down, who turned that knowledge into a company working hard not to repeat it, and who measures success by whether the person on the other side of every agreement got exactly what they were promised.
