From Finance to Footwear: How Lindsay Housman Built a Science-Backed Shoe Brand for Women

In this episode of This Mother Means Business, Laura sits down with Lindsay Housman, founder of Hettas—a Canadian performance running shoe brand designed specifically for women. Lindsay shares how her own foot pain, the lack of women-centred research in sport, and watching girls drop out of athletics sparked the idea for Hettas. They talk about what it takes to build a capital-intensive, science-backed product while still working a day job, why community activations matter so much for product-based brands, and what’s next for Hedda’s as they expand into new markets and new shoe models.In this episode you will hear:01:05 – Lindsay’s background: finance + tech, Vancouver-based founder, mom of twins04:14 – How Hettas started: the early conversations that sparked the idea06:46 – Watching girls drop out of sport and why it mattered to Lindsay08:24 – What Hettas is: performance footwear designed for women’s bodies09:45 – Why running first: the “red thread” across sports + run club community11:43 – Who the shoe is designed for (and why it works for many women beyond that)13:46 – Building Hettas while working: the “stable boat” approach18:39 – The importance of transparency, support systems, and time management20:36 – Why product businesses are different: capital intensity + inventory realities22:36 – Bringing kids along for the entrepreneurial journey (and what they learn)25:09 – Where Hettas is stocked now (Canada + San Francisco)25:45 – What’s next: two new models, different plating, lower price points26:45 – The transparent upper: why it’s polarizing and what’s changing29:10 – Supporting elite athletes + why community crews matter30:15 – Surprise channel win: e-commerce performing stronger than expected Lindsay's Links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wear_hettas/Website: https://hettas.ca/Join This Mother Means Business Community : www.thismothermeansbusiness.com/community Laura's Links:• Website • Laura's Instagram • LinkedIn • Facebook • Pinterest • TikTok