This Female-Founded Startup Disrupted the Medical Scrubs Industry and Raised $75M Backing

In a different kind of medical miracle, two ­entrepreneurs are ­making stylish scrubs ­profitable

True disruption happens when a startup finds an untapped need and skillfully fills it. Such is the case with FIGS, a company making health professionals feel both comfortable and fashionable with its high-performance scrubs. No scratchy fabrics, unisex styles, or Tweety Birds here—FIGS uses athletic fabrics that are stain repellant and antimicrobial, with well-thought-out features and fashion-forward cuts and colors.

FIGS traces its origins to an afternoon coffee Hasson had with a nurse practitioner friend. Hasson observed that her friend’s uniform was made of unflattering and uncomfortable fabric and its size label was on the outside for all to see—but learned that this was essentially the best there was for the mandatory medical uniforms, which are churned out by multibillion-dollar corporations.

Our mission is to serve those who serve others

Hasson followed that with a visit to a bleak medical supply store in a strip mall, and knew she could do better. She made a custom pair of scrubs for her friend and was soon getting inquiries about making more. It was an aha moment followed quickly by a business plan.

“Both the product and the shopping experience were subpar,” she says. “Trina and I got together and decided to transform this industry.”

Spear says she and Hasson, co-founders and co-CEOs, are the yin and yang of the enterprise. Spear has the business savvy, with a background in banking and investments; Has­son’s training is in fashion. Together, they’ve created a new model for an old industry, and doctors and nurses get to wear clothes they like and share their feedback.

“FIGS was the first company to sell online directly to the medical professional,” Hasson says. “Our goal was to really connect with this community and give them something they’d never experienced before.”

Since its 2012 launch, FIGS has garnered $75M in backing, one of the largest figures ever raised for a female-led startup.

Their vision is much more than commercial. FIGS offers students, active military members, and first responders a 15% discount. And through its Threads for Threads program, FIGS donates scrubs to medical professionals in resource-poor areas, to help them better serve their patients. Over 500K sets of FIGS have been donated to clinicians in more than 35 countries, often delivered personally by Hasson and Spear.

More than just suppliers, these two have become tastemakers, debuting new scrubs styles twice weekly. But though they are rising stars, they continually turn the spotlight on the medical professionals they admire, whom they call the true superstars.

“Our mission is to serve those who serve others” Spear says.