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B C B U S I N E S S . C A
J U N E 2 0 2 5
M
MOST SHOE COMPANIES
have a "shrink it and pink it"
mentality when it comes to
female customers, says Lindsay
Housman. "It's really through
marketing, communication
and colour that footwear is dif-
ferentiated for women," says
the Vancouver-based entrepre-
neur. As a lifelong recreational
athlete (think playing tennis,
taking HIIT classes and skiing),
Housman noticed the toll that
her running shoes took on her
body, and she—along with hus-
band Kyle Housman, founder
and CEO of Native Shoes—
started taking steps toward
creating shoes that were actu-
ally designed for the women
wearing them.
"We wanted it to be
research-backed—we didn't
just want to say we were mak-
ing shoes for women and not
make a difference," says Hous-
man, who is also managing
director of Tadley Consulting.
Using their own capital, she
and Kyle launched Hettas and
funded two public research
projects through Simon Fraser
University. "We've been basi-
cally bootstrapping, and getting
really creative with sources of
funding," the founder explains.
Grants, money raised from
friends and family and pro-bono
support kept the research run-
ning, and in 2022, Hettas scored
a three-year grant through
LINDSAY
HOUSMAN
F O U N D E R A N D C E O,
H E T TA S
INNOVATOR
the Natural Sciences and Engi-
neering Research Council of
Canada (NSERC).
H e t t a s ' f i n d i n g s — t h a t
women have higher arches,
lower ankle bones, narrower
heels and toes that are angled
differently from men's—were
incorporated into the design of
the three athletic shoes that the
company now offers. The foot-
wear is designed in Vancouver
and manufactured in China
("that's where the expertise to
manufacture athletic footwear
mostly resides," says Housman).
The founder notes that, while
the product itself is innovative,
so are the company's marketing
strategies: for example, there's
the Hettas community crew, a
team of ambassadors that puts
on run club demos and events
in key target markets. A lot of
support has come up organ-
ically, as well. (Vancouver's
Magnafire Media produced
two videos featuring Hettas for
free, and Victoria-based Feisty
Media covered the company
on a podcast and also brought
Hettas shoes to the 2024 Paris
Olympics.) Hettas is still small—
besides Housman, there's "one
and a half " employees and a
handful of contractors—but
the trailblazing research and
design has women racing to
support it. Wearers report relief
from Achilles injuries and joint
pain, and Housman is focused
on improving the shoes fur-
ther. "I'm really proud that we
produced a product that is
making a difference in in peo-
ples' lives," she says. "Now,
we can build that into the next
wave of research."–A.H.
"We wanted it
to be research-
backed—we didn't
just want to say
we were making
shoes for women
and not make a
difference."
