New Trier Graduate Launches Flooring Company Serving North Shore

WINNETKA, IL — North Shore native Matt Gaines has opened Footprints Floors North Shore, a flooring installation and restoration business serving homeowners across Chicago's North Shore.

Gaines, a New Trier High School graduate, recently launched the company after years working in technology sales.

For Gaines, the new business is tied closely to the place where he grew up. The company provides hardwood, luxury vinyl plank, laminate, tile and other flooring services, according to the source material. The opening also marks a return to the community he has long called home, where his family still lives and where he plans to build his future.

Before starting the business, Gaines built a career in software sales with companies including CDW, CareerBuilder and Salesforce. Earlier, as a teenager, he sold peanuts at Wrigley Field and went door-to-door canvassing for environmental causes before earning a marketing degree from Santa Clara University in California.

While he said he enjoyed sales, Gaines was ready for a different path.

"I wanted to get out of the corporate world," he said.

According to Gaines, a friend who bought an HVAC business influenced his thinking. Gaines saw that experience and began to believe he could run a company himself.

Working with a consultant, Gaines evaluated dozens of business opportunities before choosing flooring. He was drawn to a business that could connect his sales background with direct work for homeowners.

“It’s so much more interesting doing business with homeowners, because I love interacting with people,” he said. “They really care because they're letting you inside their castle, so there's a lot of trust involved.”

The business serves homeowners throughout the North Shore, reflecting Gaines' goal of investing in the same neighborhoods that helped shape him.