How WalkAbout helps active agers find purpose in life after 55

Over two decades ago, when Deval Delivala was living in the United States, she observed how the older generation in the country lived—they remained active and independent even in their eighties. People above the age of 55 didn’t quite view themselves as ‘old’.

This was a stark contrast to how the older adults lived back home in India—they were often dependent on their children and hardly pursued any activity or hobby.

“When I was living outside India, I figured that what we think is old in India is not actually old,” says Delivala, adding, “In the West, people in their 80s are skiing, cycling, hiking, and even driving themselves. But we call 60-year-olds as senior citizens.”

She wanted to do something about this.

Meanwhile, in 2013, Delivala had to quit her job at Uber, where she’d been working for eight years, and return to Mumbai for personal reasons. She continued with Uber India till 2018. Thereafter, she took a year off from work to figure out what she wanted to do.

As she pondered, Delivala realised that she wished to bring about a change in how older adults lived in India. She also wanted to transform people’s outlook of what ‘old’ is in the country.

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic Delivala joined the GetSetUp venture as an angel investor, before becoming its co-founder.

GetSetUp, which is based in California, is an online social learning and interactive platform designed specifically for ‘active agers’—a term it uses, as opposed to referring to them as ‘old’. It was founded in late 2019 by Neil Dsouza and Lawrence Kosick, along with Delivala.

The venture launched its operations in India in 2021. Last year, GetSetUp India rebranded itself into WalkAbout India Pvt Ltd—as a dedicated community platform for active adults aged 55 and above. Delivala and Ashwini Kapila are the co-founders of WalkAbout, which focuses on the early part of one’s ageing process.

Delivala believes the work one puts in during the 40s, 50s, and 60s on physical and mental well-being can pave the way for an independent and active lifestyle later, even in the 80s, like it is in many countries in the West.

She also points out that there are around four decades of life post retirement—if you retire at 60 and live till the age 100. And that time cannot be spent just at home, she says. “You have to do something to improve longevity, your mental health and physical health, and things like that.”

People today are realising this and working towards an active lifestyle. “My parents’ generation is ageing very differently from my grandparents’ generation. They are definitely more active, both physically and mentally, and they have the time and money to spend on things and pursue whatever they were passionate about,” says Delivala.

In 2021, GetSetup India started out with reskilling classes to teach active agers how to find purpose in life. The skills ranged from how to put up a house on Airbnb to working on Excel. After the pandemic, it pivoted towards being an online community and social engagement platform, offering classes across four verticals: finance, health, enrichment, and social.

Building a vibrant engagement platform

The classes in finance are meant to help people in their late 50s or early 60s plan their finances, if they haven’t done any planning in their 40s. There are sessions on financial planning and will writing, among other things.

The startup also runs an accelerator programme, under the finance vertical, to help people who want to start a business venture. It is currently running the second edition of the accelerator programme.

The participants are ambitious, have years of work experience and wisdom, and a good network of contacts, but they may not have the guidance required to materialise their business idea, says Delivala, adding that ideas could range from a packed foods venture to a pottery business.

The accelerator programme provides participants an opportunity to showcase what they’re building or selling.

Delivala says, “The idea is obviously to give them a little bit of prize money, but the bigger idea is to support as many of them as possible and help them realise that anything is possible.”

Her aim is to help Gen X become as confident as the millennials and Gen Z folks in starting a business.

The accelerator runs for 12 weeks and ends with a Demo Day in Mumbai. It teaches participants how to price and pitch a product, financial aspects like licensing requirements and setting up payments, online marketing, building WhatsApp groups, and planning the customer journey. There are also classes on legal and compliance, and how to scale a business.

The final leg of training, before Demo Day, helps participants build a storytelling or pitch deck.

On Demo Day, participants get to pitch their business plan and showcase their product. Five winners are chosen and each gets a prize money of Rs 1 lakh.

“When people are in the 60s, it's less about the money, it’s about the support,” says Delivala, adding that WalkAbout is more a community building programme than a venture capitalist initiative.

The second vertical is health, and this includes both the physical and mental aspects.

For physical heath, participants are provided strength training, yoga, and exercises to keep them moving. There is also an athlete programme wherein senior athletes competing in any government-body recognised sport are sponsored for a year.

With regard to mental health, Delivala says a lot of older people experience loneliness and mental issues due to lack of purpose. She says, “While having phones has opened (them) up (to) the world, it's actually shrunk the world at home.”

WalkAbout facilitates discussions wherein people talk about their feelings and share what they are going through, including coping with the loss of a spouse or issues like illness or poor health.

The third vertical is enrichment via hobby classes.

The previous generation grew up in an era that didn’t give too much importance to hobbies. WalkAbout wants to give people a chance to pursue their interests with classes in music, dance, poetry writing, art, craft, and languages.

The fourth vertical (social) comprises classes, both online and offline, taught by active adults. For example, a dance class is taken by a 77-year-old retired banker who learnt Bharatnatyam at the age of 50, thus inspiring people of that age group, says Delivala.

If classes are taught by peers in one’s own age group, people will find the experience judgement-free and will be motivated to learn, she adds. “You feel, if this person can do it, I can do it too… and that it’s never too late to start."

The startup also offers offline experiences such as weekly pickle ball sessions and brain gyms. The brain gym sessions, called ‘Grey Matter Games’, involve puzzles, mental maths games, other mentally stimulating activities to keep cognitive faculties sharp. They are currently held in Mumbai, and there are plans to take them to other cities as well.

The funding for the classes comes from private investors. WalkAbout raised a small funding round in September 2025 from angel investors and HDFC Ventures.

“All our experiences cater to learning, finding purpose, and helping older adults live a better life,” Delivala signs off.