6M users, <2 years: Inside StepSetGo

The idea behind Mumbai-based fitness startup StepSetGo, which marries gamification and health, came to life at a dinner table conversation between Shivjeet Ghatge and his brother-in-law, former cricketer Zaheer Khan.

Friday April 22, 2022 , 4 min Read

The idea behind Mumbai-based fitness startup StepSetGo, which marries gamification and health, came to life at a dinner table conversation between Shivjeet Ghatge and his brother-in-law, former cricketer Zaheer Khan.

“Whether it is on field or off field, fitness is something I have always been passionate about. So when Shivjeet and the others began talking about the space, ideas simply kept coming. And that is how we decided to build StepSetGo,” Zaheer tells YourStory.

Childhood friends Misaal Turakhia, Abhay Pai, and Shivjeet Ghatge, along with Zaheer, started StepSetGo (SSG) in January 2019.

StepSetGo works on a simple model — users earn SSG coins for every step taken, which can then be redeemed in the in-app marketplace or Bazaar.

Amid the cacophony of health and fitness apps in India, has StepSetGo made its mark?

The founders believe it has. “Most brands tend to start spending heavily on marketing, but our concept spoke for itself. Our reach grew in volumes simply by word of mouth. From a small setup that comprised just the three of us working out of a friend’s father's old office in Mumbai, we scaled up to a family of six million-plus registered users in less than two years,” Shivjeet says.

The app was one of the 24 winners of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge in 2020.

Watch Zaheer Khan and Shivjeet Ghatge, founders of StepSetGo, talk about the startup’s journey, here.

The Interview

In a tell-all interview recorded at YourStory's Women On A Mission event, BYJU'S Co-founder Divya Gokulnath talks about her journey from an educator to an entrepreneur, and how she is empowering people around her to create more leaders.

Editor’s Pick: 100X Entrepreneur Podcast

India is the fastest-growing market for nutrition in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Market Data Forecast. But how does the upcoming breed of nutrition brands capture the audience in a country where Chyawanprash has remained the ultimate immunity booster for the longest time?

In this week’s 100X Entrepreneur Podcast, Aarti Gill, Co-founder of Oziva, reflects on the initial journey, the challenges, and diversification into omnichannel market distribution. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Reimagining toilets for women on Indian highways

An avid biker and traveller, Diptendu Roy — who once travelled across India on his bike — wanted to address India’s toilet scarcity problem, and came up with a unique concept of turning old, decommissioned buses into highway washrooms.

He set up Eloo, which was incubated at IIT Mandi Catalyst, to look into this commercially. So far, the Raipur-based startup has piloted one project in Santiniketan, West Bengal, where Diptendu grew up. Read more.

News & Updates

Charged up: SaaS unicorn Chargebee has partnered with fintech major Razorpay to offer subscription billing services in India.

One for Make in India: The central government said 1.03 lakh new manufacturing and service units were set up under its flagship scheme Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), along with the creation of over 8.25 lakh jobs in the last financial year.

Second innings: After 12 investments from its first proprietary fund, early-stage venture fund Capital A has initiated discussions for a second one, expected to raise Rs 200 crore.