Former Bain Consultant Brings Expert Strategy to Flooring

This article was originally published in Patch.com on May 27, 2026.

(The Woodlands, Texas, May 2026) Devin Hedgepeth has built a career across some of the most demanding environments in business and athletics – from the energy industry at ExxonMobil, to management consulting at Bain & Company, to earning his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, to competing as a Division I cornerback at Oklahoma State University.

Now, Hedgepeth is bringing that same discipline, strategy, and high-performance mindset to homeowners throughout the greater North Houston area as the owner of Floor Coverings International of The Woodlands, which recently opened.

The new business serves The Woodlands, Spring, Magnolia, Kingwood, Shenandoah, Oak Ridge North, Conroe, Humble, Montgomery, Porter, and surrounding Texas communities.

Floor Coverings International is a unique flooring franchise that brings a Mobile Flooring Showroom® directly to the customer’s home, allowing homeowners to view more than 3,000 flooring samples in the actual rooms where the flooring will be installed. The model eliminates the need for customers to visit multiple stores or make design decisions under harsh showroom lighting, offering instead a personalized, in-home consultation tailored to the homeowner’s style, lifestyle, budget, and long-term needs.

For Hedgepeth, the move into flooring may seem unexpected from the outside. But to him, it represents the natural next step in a career built on precision, problem-solving, and trust.

“At ExxonMobil, I learned how to operate inside complex systems, manage logistics and hold myself to a very high standard of execution,” Hedgepeth said. “In the energy world, details matter. That translates directly to a business where accurate measurements, material specifications and project execution can be the difference between a great customer experience and a costly mistake.”

His years at Bain & Company also shaped the way he approaches the flooring business. “At Bain, I learned how to diagnose a business quickly, build a strategy and present recommendations to clients in a way that builds trust,” he said. “Every day in this business, I am walking into someone’s home, assessing their space, understanding what they want and guiding them toward the right solution. That is consulting— just with flooring samples instead of slide decks.”

Hedgepeth had been studying franchise opportunities for more than a year before choosing Floor Coverings International. What stood out, he said, was the strength of the business model and the opportunity to improve customer experience in a category where homeowners are often left frustrated by big-box stores, unreliable contractors or limited guidance.

“What stopped me cold about Floor Coverings International was how well the model was designed,” Hedgepeth said. “It’s mobile, it’s low-overhead and it brings a premium, convenient experience directly to the customer. As someone who spent years analyzing business models, I could see immediately that this one was built right.”

The timing also marks an important personal milestone. Hedgepeth and his wife, Jamille, married in April 2026, just one month before he launched the business. The two met while earning their MBAs at Stanford, and while Jamille is not running the day-to-day business with him, Hedgepeth says the launch is very much part of a shared vision for their future.

“We were both coming out of high-pressure, high-achievement careers where you’re always performing for someone else’s scorecard,” he said. “Getting married made us ask a bigger question: what do we actually want to build? Not just a career — a life. Something that’s ours.”

Hedgepeth sees strong opportunity in The Woodlands-area market, where homeowners are investing in both new construction and renovations. He expects growing demand for engineered hardwood, luxury vinyl plank and design-forward flooring solutions that can withstand the realities of the Houston-area climate.

“Engineered hardwood is having a moment, and for good reason,” Hedgepeth said. “Houston’s humidity and heat have always made solid hardwood a risky choice. Engineered hardwood gives homeowners that same warm, authentic look, but with the dimensional stability to hold up better in our climate.”

He also sees strong interest in luxury vinyl plank, particularly among families with children and pets.

“Luxury vinyl plank has completely changed the game,” he said. “Some of today’s LVP is waterproof, incredibly durable, and frankly beautiful. In a market like ours, where humidity, occasional flood concerns, kids and pets are all part of real life, it has become the smart choice for a huge segment of homeowners.”

For Hedgepeth, local ownership is central to the business. “The Woodlands is a community I chose,” he said. “I’m not a franchise that parachuted in. I live here, I’m invested here, and I’m building a business I want my neighbors to trust for decades.”

Reach Devin at https://floorcoveringsinternational.com/locations/us/tx/wo0dlands/ or contact Floor Coverings International of The Woodlands at 936-297-6227.

About Floor Coverings International®

Floor Coverings International is the #1 flooring franchise in North America with over 300 locations between the U.S. and Canada. Known for its unique customer experience and Mobile Flooring Showroom®, the business model brings over 3000 flooring samples to the customer’s door. For more information, please go to www.floorcoveringsinternational.com.