Hilma

What Hilma does

Hilma (operating under the legal entity Voyage Run Co.) was a Boston-based, direct-to-consumer women's running shoe brand founded by Brooke Torres and launched publicly in 2022. The company manufactured and sold two core products — The Everywhere Road Hybrid and The Wildbound Trail Shoe — designed around the thesis that women's feet require fit considerations beyond standard width and length, and offered three distinct lasts per size to accommodate different female foot shapes. Shoes were constructed with a sugarcane-based EVA midsole foam, positioning the brand around sustainability as well as fit.

The primary technical differentiator was a virtual fitting experience: a roughly five-minute online survey whose responses were processed by a proprietary fit predictor algorithm to recommend a personalized shoe fit per customer, reducing trial-and-error in the purchase journey. Hilma sold exclusively through its own e-commerce storefront with US-only shipping and returns, and generated demand through organic social (Instagram @hilma.running, with a user-generated-content program), grassroots press coverage in outlets including Runner's World, Forbes, Business Insider, Harper's Bazaar, Women's Health, Outside, and the Boston Globe, and podcast features. There was no paid acquisition, wholesale, or marketplace channel identified.

Hilma was privately held and raised a single $3 million seed round in 2022 from undisclosed investors. The business operated at 1-10 employees with headcount stated as part of the firmographic record. Revenue mechanics were one-time direct shoe sales via e-commerce, with no disclosed subscription, recurring, or B2B component and no publicly posted price points. The company ceased operations in May 2026 following inventory problems and an inability to raise additional capital, per public reporting, removing the niche women's-specific DTC running shoe player from the market.

Name

Hilma

Legal name

Voyage Run Co.

Website

https://join-hilma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hilma was a Boston-based direct-to-consumer women's running shoe brand that personalized footwear via a virtual fitting survey and three-fits-per-size lasts. It sold The Everywhere Road Hybrid and The Wildbound Trail Shoe through US e-commerce before shutting down in 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Running Footwear

NAICS

Footwear Manufacturing (3162)

SIC

Footwear, (No Rubber) (3140)

akta.pro primary industry

Athletic Footwear Manufacturing (Running/Training/Court) (IMAOAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Performance Footwear (Running, Training, Court) (CRAAAEAI)

Keywords

• Women's running shoes
• Personalized footwear
• Direct-to-consumer sneakers
• Mass customization shoes
• Trail running footwear

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Direct Shoe Sales: Hilma generates revenue through direct-to-consumer sales of running shoes via their e-commerce website. Customers purchase personalized footwear through a virtual fitting and ordering process. Revenue is one-time transaction-based per shoe sale, with no recurring subscription component mentioned.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hilma designs, brands, and sells running shoes built specifically for women's foot anatomy through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce model. Customers complete a virtual 5-minute fit survey whose responses are analyzed by a proprietary fit predictor algorithm to recommend an optimal shoe fit, drawing on a system of three distinct lasts per shoe size. The company markets two core products—The Everywhere Road Hybrid and The Wildbound Trail Shoe—made with sugarcane-based EVA midsoles.

Product overview

Hilma is a women-focused running shoe company offering two core products—The Everywhere Road Hybrid and The Wildbound Trail Shoe—through a mass personalization model. The company differentiates through a virtual fitting experience that includes a fit survey and fit predictor algorithm, offering 3 distinct fits per size to accommodate women's real foot shapes rather than standard width/length sizing. Shoes are crafted with sugarcane-based EVA sustainable materials and marketed as durable, high-performance footwear for female runners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Everywhere Road Hybrid A road running hybrid shoe designed for female runners, built on Hilma's gender-specific lasts with three fits per size and a sugarcane-based EVA midsole. Selected via Hilma's virtual fit survey and sold direct through hilma-running.com.
• The Wildbound Trail Shoe A trail running shoe engineered for women, built with Hilma's gender-specific lasts to accommodate women's real fit needs with three distinct fits per size and a sugarcane-based EVA midsole. Sold direct through hilma-running.com after completing the virtual fit survey.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Hoka: Hoka is a broad incumbent running brand with deep women's assortment and aggressive DTC investment. It overlaps with Hilma on road and trail running shoes for women, but operates at vastly larger scale through wholesale and retail.
• Nike Women: Nike's women's running line (Vomero, Pegasus, Invincible) is the dominant incumbent Hilma most had to compete with on female-runner attention. Nike is a broad incumbent rather than a direct peer but sets the performance, marketing, and retail benchmark Hilma benchmarked against.
• New Balance: New Balance operates a major women's running franchise (Fresh Foam, FuelCell) with strong DTC growth and Made-in-USA premium positioning. It is a broader incumbent but shares Hilma's core demographic and product categories.
• ASICS: ASICS is a long-standing running specialist with a sizable women's road and trail line (Gel-Kayano, Gel-Nimbus, Fuji). It is a broader incumbent with global retail, but is one of the named brands Hilma's press coverage frequently positioned itself against.

Direct peers

• Brooks Running: Brooks is one of the closest direct peers: a running-specialist brand with a dedicated women's line, fit-engineering heritage, and broad road/trail coverage. Hilma targeted the same female-runner customer that anchors Brooks' growth, making it the most relevant comparable.
• Altra Running: Altra pioneered foot-shaped lasts and gender-specific fit philosophy for runners, conceptually the closest analog to Hilma's '3 fits per size.' It competes in the same road and trail running categories with similar female-runner targeting.
• On Running: On is a premium DTC-anchored running brand with a strong women's presence, vertically-operated marketing, and a fit-led product story. It is one of the most cited 'what Hilma could become' comparisons in the premium women's running space.
• Topo Athletic: Topo is a smaller running specialist focused on foot-shaped, wider lasts and women's-specific designs. It is highly comparable to Hilma on product philosophy and target customer even though it is larger and operating.
• Allbirds: Allbirds is a sustainable DTC footwear brand that pioneered eco-friendly materials and direct-to-consumer storytelling. It is a direct peer in business model and sustainability narrative, though Allbirds focuses on casual rather than performance running shoes.
• Rothy's: Rothy's is a women's-focused sustainable DTC footwear brand with single-SKU product depth and a direct-to-consumer marketing playbook. It shares Hilma's vertical, sustainability, and DTC GTM but in women's casual rather than running.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/hilma.running
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/join-hilma

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hilma