Heather Hasson and Trina Spear saw an opportunity nobody else seemed to notice: millions of healthcare workers were spending long days in uncomfortable, ill-fitting scrubs.
So they set out to reinvent them.
Heather was a designer with almost no money. To join her, Trina left a prestigious job at Blackstone and cashed out her retirement. They sold scrubs out of a car, got rejected by hundreds of investors, and eventually built FIGS into a multibillion-dollar public company.
Along the way, they paid $40 million to fight a lawsuit, navigated a pandemic, and watched their company’s valuation swing by billions.
This week, Heather and Trina share how they built the “Lululemon of Scrubs”—and why your net worth is not the same thing as self worth.
What you’ll learn
How a trip to Kenya changed Heather’s view of uniforms–and led her to start her own scarf and tie business
How Heather spotted an opportunity in a stale category: healthcare workers want comfortable clothes, too
How free coffee became a tool for customer growth
How the founders endured hundreds of investor rejections and learned to pursue a quick no
How FIGS built a community that is “diehard obsessed” with their products
How it pays–and what it costs– to defend your company against competitor lawsuits
Why net worth shouldn’t determine self-worth
How Heather and Trina think about resilience, luck, and building a company that lasts
Timestamps:
07:05 - Heather’s dreams to become a surgeon and launch a handbag business fall through, so she takes a life-changing trip to Kenya
13:53 - Heather meets a healthcare friend for coffee: “What are you wearing?... This is garbage.”
20:46 - Trina beats Heather in a tennis match, and the two become business partners
29:38 - Trina walks away from Blackstone to join Heather, and everyone asks, “What are you doing?”
35:05 - FIGS launches: Healthcare workers get it, but investors don’t
47:56 - A big-time investor comes on board—from the movie business
52:17 - A competitor sues for $800 million, and Heather and Trina use anger to their advantage
59:46 - COVID hits… and a year later, FIGS goes public
1:08:22 - No major plans to diversify: FIGS is all-in on scrubs for now
This episode was researched and produced by Katherine Sypher with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.
Follow How I Built This:
Instagram → @howibuiltthis
X → @HowIBuiltThis
Facebook → How I Built This
Follow Guy Raz:
Instagram → @guy.raz
Youtube → guy_raz
X → @guyraz
Substack → guyraz.substack.com
Website → guyraz.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
So they set out to reinvent them.
Heather was a designer with almost no money. To join her, Trina left a prestigious job at Blackstone and cashed out her retirement. They sold scrubs out of a car, got rejected by hundreds of investors, and eventually built FIGS into a multibillion-dollar public company.
Along the way, they paid $40 million to fight a lawsuit, navigated a pandemic, and watched their company’s valuation swing by billions.
This week, Heather and Trina share how they built the “Lululemon of Scrubs”—and why your net worth is not the same thing as self worth.
What you’ll learn
How a trip to Kenya changed Heather’s view of uniforms–and led her to start her own scarf and tie business
How Heather spotted an opportunity in a stale category: healthcare workers want comfortable clothes, too
How free coffee became a tool for customer growth
How the founders endured hundreds of investor rejections and learned to pursue a quick no
How FIGS built a community that is “diehard obsessed” with their products
How it pays–and what it costs– to defend your company against competitor lawsuits
Why net worth shouldn’t determine self-worth
How Heather and Trina think about resilience, luck, and building a company that lasts
Timestamps:
07:05 - Heather’s dreams to become a surgeon and launch a handbag business fall through, so she takes a life-changing trip to Kenya
13:53 - Heather meets a healthcare friend for coffee: “What are you wearing?... This is garbage.”
20:46 - Trina beats Heather in a tennis match, and the two become business partners
29:38 - Trina walks away from Blackstone to join Heather, and everyone asks, “What are you doing?”
35:05 - FIGS launches: Healthcare workers get it, but investors don’t
47:56 - A big-time investor comes on board—from the movie business
52:17 - A competitor sues for $800 million, and Heather and Trina use anger to their advantage
59:46 - COVID hits… and a year later, FIGS goes public
1:08:22 - No major plans to diversify: FIGS is all-in on scrubs for now
This episode was researched and produced by Katherine Sypher with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.
Follow How I Built This:
Instagram → @howibuiltthis
X → @HowIBuiltThis
Facebook → How I Built This
Follow Guy Raz:
Instagram → @guy.raz
Youtube → guy_raz
X → @guyraz
Substack → guyraz.substack.com
Website → guyraz.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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