How FIGS Kept Board Control After a VC Coup
When early investors tried to oust FIGS' founders, Thomas Tull wrote a $65 million check to clear the cap table and lock in founder control.
FIGS: Trina Spear and Heather Hasson. The $2.5 Billion Scrubs Brand That Investors Said Would Never Work
FIGS co-founders Heather Hasson and Trina Spear share how they transformed medical apparel from uncomfortable, baggy uniforms into a multi-billion-dollar direct-to-consumer brand. They discuss selling scrubs out of a car trunk, overcoming hundreds of investor rejections, clearing their cap table with Thomas Tull, surviving a $40 million lawsuit from legacy competitors, and navigating extreme public market swings while keeping net worth separate from self-worth.
Key takeaways
- In 2015, Vancouver-based Campfire Capital invested in FIGS and later attempted to remove co-founders Heather Hasson and Trina Spear from executive leadership. Read more →
- Heather Hasson and Trina Spear pitched between 300 and 400 venture capitalists before finding investors who understood medical apparel. Read more →
- Hasson first recognized the psychological weight of clothing while watching students in Kenya build confidence simply by wearing clean school uniforms. Read more →
- Legacy scrub companies surrendered 60 percent of their sales price to retail distributors and 8 to 12 percent to licensing partners, starving their products of capital for fabric development. Read more →
- Medical apparel incumbent Strategic Partners hit FIGS with an $800 million lawsuit claiming false advertising and stolen trade secrets. Read more →
5 articles from this episode
FIGS Got 400 Rejections by Hunting for Fast Nos
FIGS co-founders Heather Hasson and Trina Spear collected 400 investor rejections. Here is why hunting for fast nos beats chasing lukewarm venture capital.
Heather Hasson on How Ugly Scrubs Built FIGS
Heather Hasson explains how spotting scratchy scrubs next to bedpans sparked the multi-billion-dollar medical apparel brand FIGS.
Trina Spear on Why Legacy Scrub Makers Failed
Trina Spear explains how FIGS replaced medical supply middlemen by selling direct to healthcare workers outside emergency rooms.
Why FIGS Spent $40 Million to Fight an $800 Million Lawsuit
FIGS co-founders Heather Hasson and Trina Spear spent $40 million fighting an $800M competitor lawsuit. Here is why settling was off the table.
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