Today we’d like to introduce you to Erik Schults.
Erik, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born and raised in a small town in southwest Michigan. Entrepreneurship and hard work were part of my environment from the beginning. My father built and ran a successful engineering and real estate development firm for over 20 years, growing it to more than 100 employees, while my mother was a podiatrist who had moved to the area after medical school. On both sides of my family, there’s a history of resilience—my grandfather was a homebuilder who emigrated from Latvia, and my grandmother fled Germany during World War II.
When I was five years old, everything changed. My mother was tragically killed in a car accident, leaving my father to raise my younger sister and me. In the aftermath, my father sold his businesses and focused entirely on our family. That loss also led to something meaningful for our community. With the help of friends and local leaders, Lory’s Place was created—an organization dedicated to supporting grieving children and families. Over the last 20 years, it has helped more than 60,000 people in southwest Michigan, and I recently had the honor of speaking at its 20th anniversary event.
As life stabilized, my father eventually returned to engineering, this time pursuing a long-held passion for waterfront and marine development. Around the same time, my sister began competing in equestrian sports in Wellington, Florida, which led our family to spend more time there. That period opened the door for me to become deeply involved in my father’s new marine engineering venture.
I started at the ground level—cleaning up old drawings, organizing files, helping with office setup. Over time, that grew into fieldwork, surveys, CAD drafting, permitting, and eventually light design work. I was exposed to every part of the business, from technical engineering to project finances, and even helped analyze development cash flows while I was in college.
I graduated from Michigan Technological University in 2020 and spent my first year working under a senior coastal engineer. Not long after, I moved to Florida to be closer to my family and joined the growing office there. As the business evolved, my father and his partner eventually had different visions for the company’s future. One day, my father asked me if I was ready to step up. I said yes.
We formed a new company together, and the transition was challenging. I took on responsibilities well beyond engineering—setting up systems for drafting, accounting, HR, and operations—often learning as I went. We grew from a small office suite into a modern headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, built a strong team, and slowly established our name in the industry.
Today, we have offices in both Fort Lauderdale and Apalachicola, Florida. I’ve earned my Professional Engineer license and transitioned the firm’s engineering leadership from my father to myself. I now serve as President, while my father remains CEO. Looking back, the journey hasn’t been linear or easy, but every phase—family, loss, community, and hands-on experience—has shaped how I lead and why I care so deeply about what we’re building.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not at all. While I’ve been fortunate to have strong mentors and opportunities, the path has been anything but smooth. Losing my mother at a young age shaped my family and forced all of us to grow up quickly. Professionally, stepping into leadership early came with a steep learning curve. When my father and I formed our own firm, we were building systems, culture, and credibility at the same time, often while figuring things out in real time.
There were moments of uncertainty, tough decisions around people and growth, and plenty of pressure that came with being responsible not just for projects, but for a team that trusted us. That said, those challenges were also the most valuable experiences. They taught me resilience, accountability, and how to lead with empathy rather than ego. Looking back, the road wasn’t smooth, and I wouldn’t trade the lessons for an easier path.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Edgewater Group LLC?
Today, our firm specializes in waterfront development and marina infrastructure, with an integrated focus across four core disciplines: engineering, environmental services, architecture, and development. While we have the capability to provide a wide range of services, these areas form the backbone of our work and allow us to support complex waterfront projects from start to finish.
The foundation of the firm is engineering, as both my father and I are Professional Engineers. However, we intentionally built the company to go beyond traditional engineering-only services. Waterfront projects are inherently multidisciplinary, and coordinating separate consultants for engineering, environmental permitting, and architectural design often creates inefficiencies for clients. By offering these services in house, we function as a true one stop shop, which allows projects to move more efficiently.
What truly sets us apart is our approach to site optimization. While we regularly design seawalls, docks, boardwalks, marina facilities, and obtain environmental permits, our work goes beyond simply meeting minimum code requirements. Rather than taking a tell me what you want and I will draw it approach, we work closely with clients to identify opportunities they may not initially see. Experience has shown us that thoughtful waterfront planning can significantly increase usability, resiliency, and long term value.
For example, when a site has wave exposure or limited waterfront frontage, we may explore solutions such as internal marina basins that create protected waters, establish a focal point for the development, and effectively turn surrounding parcels into waterfront property. We also stay at the forefront of evolving marina technologies, including innovative boat storage solutions such as automated dry stack systems that allow projects to achieve higher capacity and efficiency on constrained sites.
One project we are especially proud of is the F3 Marina in Fort Lauderdale, where we were heavily involved from the earliest conceptual phases through final closeout. It is a strong example of how integrated planning, creative problem solving, and technical expertise can come together to create a successful waterfront destination.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work alongside my father in our business, and I recognize that not everyone has that path available to them. At the same time, that opportunity came with a significant amount of responsibility and pressure. Carrying on something that already existed, and that people depended on, was very different from starting something on my own with a blank slate.
One thing I learned early on is to accept that difficult things are going to happen. I experienced real trauma at a young age, and while I would never wish that on anyone, it gave me perspective and resilience that I rely on today. That experience also gave me confidence that if I could make it through that stage of life and the early growing pains of the business, I could handle whatever came next. In business, just like in life, things rarely go exactly as planned. As an owner, it can be especially hard to accept that not everything will be perfect, but the reality is that it never is. I’ve had to learn not to compare my business to others that appear to be running flawlessly from the outside, because behind the scenes, every company has challenges.
From a practical business standpoint, the most important lesson I would pass on is to pay close attention to cash flow. Without consistent income and a clear system for billing and collections, even great clients, strong marketing, and high quality work will not sustain a business. I wish I had fully appreciated how critical cash flow was earlier on. Looking ahead, managing receivables, and getting paid on time is just as important as winning the work in the first place.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.edgewater.pro
