BFD: Heather Hasson & Trina Spear—The Women Who Reinvented Scrubs and Made $700M Doing It
- Built on YES
- Mar 11
- 3 min read
Here’s the deal: If you’ve ever been to a hospital (or, you know, watched Grey’s Anatomy), you’ve seen medical scrubs. But until recently, no one really questioned why the people literally saving lives were stuck wearing baggy, uncomfortable, ill-fitting uniforms that look like they were designed in 1972.
Enter Heather Hasson and Trina Spear, the powerhouse duo who took one look at this problem and said, Nope, we can do better.
They didn’t just disrupt a $10B industry. They made history as the first female co-founders to take a company public, turning FIGS into a billion-dollar business. And yeah, their story is exactly the kind of Big F-ing Deal we love to talk about here at Built on YES.
It Started With a Question (And a Whole Lot of Hustle)
Heather Hasson didn’t set out to reinvent medical apparel. In fact, she was a fashion entrepreneur who just happened to notice that her friend (a nurse) wore the same scrubs every single day. Uncomfortable, unflattering, and frankly, not made for humans who work 12-hour shifts on their feet. (No offense to scrub-wearing people everywhere!) She questioned why healthcare heroes were stuck in subpar uniforms while athletes had brands like Lululemon and Nike catering to them.
So she started asking: Why does athletic wear get all the innovation, but healthcare workers are left behind?
That question led her to Trina Spear, a Harvard Business School grad and former investment banker, who saw the same gap—and an opportunity to build something massive.
They teamed up in 2013 and launched FIGS, a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand focused on making scrubs that actually fit, perform, and look good—and the healthcare world went wild for it.
From Selling Scrubs in Parking Lots to a $4.4B IPO
Success didn’t happen overnight. In true founder fashion, they started small and scrappy—literally selling FIGS scrubs out of car trunks in hospital parking lots.
They bootstrapped their way through the early days, with Trina even liquidating her 401(k) to fund production. (Now that’s a leap of faith.)
Then came the investors. After a lot of rejection (because, of course--eyeroll), they raised $75M in venture capital, with movie producer Thomas Tull (yes, the guy behind The Dark Knight and Inception) leading the charge.
For a while, they barely broke even. But by 2020, their revenue more than doubled to $263M—and the rest is IPO history.
When FIGS went public in 2021, they debuted at a $4.4 billion valuation, and Heather and Trina became the first female co-founders to ring the NYSE bell with a $700M payday.
Big. F*cking. Deal.
The Legal Battle: David vs. Goliath
Success often attracts challenges. In 2019, FIGS faced a lawsuit from Careismatic Brands Inc. (formerly Strategic Partners Inc.), a giant in the medical apparel industry. Careismatic alleged that FIGS made false advertising claims about their products' antimicrobial properties and charitable endeavors. They sought over $120 million in damages, accusing FIGS of misleading healthcare workers with exaggerated claims about how its medical scrubs keep them safe.
FIGS stood firm, denying the allegations and defending their commitment to transparency and innovation. The legal tussle lasted four years, during which FIGS continued to focus on its mission to serve healthcare professionals. In November 2022, a jury unanimously rejected all claims made by Careismatic, marking a significant victory for FIGS.
The Real Lesson? Resilience Wins Every Time
The road to billion-dollar success wasn’t smooth. FIGS faced manufacturing hiccups, fundraising roadblocks, and plenty of skepticism from an industry that wasn’t exactly begging for change.
But Heather and Trina kept pushing, pivoting, and proving people wrong—and now, they’re running one of the most successful DTC brands in healthcare.
Their story is a masterclass in what it means to find a gap, take the leap, and just keep going.
It’s also a reminder that the biggest wins come from challenging the status quo—and sometimes, from selling scrubs in parking lots.
Want More BFD Energy?
At Built on YES, we’re all about sharing the stories of women who take bold ideas and turn them into big, profitable, history-making moves. If you’re building, pivoting, or just need a reminder that resilience always pays off, stick with us.
Because you? You’re one decision away from your own BFD moment.
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