Get Set Go: This start-up will psych you out into getting healthy
Rajiv Menon had everything going for him. Immediately after graduating, he worked in some of the top tech firms in the country. After a couple of years. having interacted with so many young entrepreneurs, he decided it was time that he set up his own company. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed. What was even more unfortunate was that he got depressed. But well, this was just the beginning of his story.
"At that point, I had just become a father and to have a failing business is not the easiest thing. Especially after seeing so much success, it was difficult to see failure. For almost a year, I remained depressed. Then slowly I started to work out and exercise and it made me happier. So I started working out more and it made me feel more motivated and funnily enough, I found my next project," said Menon. He had joined groups on Facebook and WhatsApp to learn more exercise techniques and then it struck him, "I decided to create a platform where the common person could meet an expert and seek advice about how to get healthier and how to build up their motivation to do so." This was how Get Set Go came to be.
People can go to Google and they have a ready-made plan or they can go to the gym. But we don't do it. Why? Because we don't have the motivation,"
- Rajiv Menon
"Everyone knows how to get healthy or lose weight (even though we firmly believe that they are not the same thing). People can go to Google and they have a ready-made plan or they can go to the gym. But we don't do it. Why? Because we don't have the motivation," Menon explained.
So, at Get Set Go, it isn't just about exercise routines and diet plans, it's about encouragement and motivation to get healthy. The online platform invites people to become members and then puts them in touch with a personal coach. They work together and this way the member will not lose motivation and will stick to their plan. Menon believes a personal relationship is always more effective than a gym trainer you meet once a week or a diet plan you take off the internet, "The coach and the client create a diet plan and exercise schedule together taking into consideration all the health issues involved. Any time the member has doubts, they can immediately seek the help of their coach. It can be as simple as getting bored of their breakfast and wanting to try something new or if they feel like they want to eat one more chapathi, then the coach will guide them," he explained.
GetSetGo Fitness helps clients follow a healthy and sustainable fitness regimen - both nutrition (diet) & exercises.
The clients come for a variety of issues ranging from weight loss, muscle gain, transformation, managing lifestyle disorders such as diabetes, thyroid, PCOD, cholesterol etc. T
A support system is provided to the clients that involve follow-ups, motivation, community engagement etc through a social-media driven model.
It helps them follow the program and also connect with others who are following the same path as theirs.
Fitness is an industry that is already got an overwhelming number of start-ups but Menon says that no one has really focused on the psychological needs of a person trying to get healthy. "A gym instructor knows the best work-outs and a dietician will know the best nutrition, along with this the person will also need willpower. We want to engage with our clients, be part of their journey and that's what makes us different," he added.
One of the misconceptions about GSS is that people think they are a weight loss company, which Menon denies, "We find out what the individual needs first. Even if a person loses just two kilos but doesn't pant anymore while climbing the stairs then that's enough. Or if their diabetes is reduced then that is a yardstick for success."
The company has now been functioning successfully for a year and recently launched in Dubai. A lot of the clients are also stakeholders in the company as well and success stories have made the client circle grow wider by the day. "One of our clients had been taking insulin shots for 15 years. Nine months after he joined us, he stopped the insulin because he brought about a change in his lifestyle with our help. That was a great achievement for us, since then he has been bringing his friends and family to us just like many of our other clients," Menon explained.
