Fitness platform Steppi rewards people for stepping up to stay active and healthy
The Dubai venture is looking to help employers to improve the health of their workforce, writes Alice Haine
It was a “really small gap” in the market that inspired start-up founders Joe Franklin and Milos Savic to set up Steppi, a platform that rewards users for exercising.
The duo worked for US wearable technology company Fitbit at its Dubai office when new UAE regulations were unveiled last year on the use of information and communication technology in the country’s healthcare sector.
Under the ICT Health Law, fitness data recorded by wearable devices can no longer be stored, processed, generated, or transferred outside of the UAE, unless approved by the government.
“The law required that wearable data should be hosted on local servers and none of the big brands could do that, so that is the really small gap in the market we jumped into,” says Mr Franklin, 40.
The result was Steppi, a platform built for the corporate wellness space to help employers motivate their staff to stay in shape, with a separate application for individual users that offers discounts on brands if they hit a certain target.
“The goal is to address the inactivity in this region. The ... wider GCC is one of the most inactive regions globally, and that inactivity leads to different illnesses, such as Type 2 diabetes. We are trying to address that inactivity by rewarding people for being more active,” says Mr Franklin.
“Part of it is educational as well. Why is it important to do 10,000 steps a day? Not everyone understands these kinds of statistics.”
The entrepreneurs began working on the concept 18 months ago and left Fitbit – where Mr Franklin worked as a sales manager and Mr Savic, 37, as a brand manager – to focus on the venture full-time in October.
The app was launched in February, at a time when the virus was beginning to spread around the world.
“Covid-19 probably slowed us down as we were relying, in some respect, on [companies] for the business-to-business model and then on F&B for the business-to-consumer model,” says Mr Franklin.
“With the handbrake being applied to the market, we slowed down in line with the restrictions, but because we were so new and didn’t have the big overheads of more mature companies, it enabled us to ride [out] the storm a bit easier.”
However, as the UAE began to ease movement restrictions and the market reopened, Steppi registered an increase in demand.
Under its B2B model, the company supplies software to organisations that collect data from wearable devices and smartphones that record the activity levels of their workforce.
“We then build-in incentives to our platform to drive engagement,” says Mr Franklin.
For employers, a more active workforce means a healthier team, says Mr Savic, which can translate into lower insurance premiums over the long term.
The platform can also help employers engage their staff, he said, as it sets challenges, with rewards offered for those that achieve their targets.
On the B2C product, people downloading and using the Steppi app receive rewards from retailers or food and beverage shops for hitting targets linked to the number of steps taken, active minutes recorded or distances covered.
The data is recorded on wearable devices by brands such as Fitbit, Garmin or Apple. The app can connect with smartphones through Apple Health or Google Fit apps.
“You could get 30 per cent off with All Saints, as an example, for 10,000 steps. We have got hundreds of different vendors on our platform, across F&B shopping and attractions,” says Mr Franklin.
“What we are trying to do is build that platform of rewards, similar to The Entertainer model, but [one that is] underpinned by [a drive to] encourage people to be more active. It’s free to use for the user.”
While Covid-19 slowed the company’s growth in the early days, remote working and the fear of being infected encouraged people to use their app to stay fit.
“That is the beauty of our platform because it is a digital platform that can be running in or outside the office,” says Mr Franklin.
“Some of our clients doubled down on this during the lockdown period and we have seen some fantastic results with engagement levels of up to 95 per cent and an increase in activity levels of 80 per cent-plus – so, really strong results so far.
“We are fortunate that the coronavirus has brought health and wellness under the microscope. You see more people out walking and jogging and [companies] are now looking at how do they invest in their workforce to make sure that they are healthy, active and engaged.”
While the company secured 3,000 users in March, April and May, that figure is on track to exceed 10,000 by the end of this month, with plans to hit 200,000 by year-end. To help fuel that growth, the duo secured a second seed-round investment of $720,000 (Dh2.64 million) at the end of June.
Their first round, financed by their own savings and silent investors, helped the business reach the “proof of concept stage”, while the latest funds will be used for marketing, recruitment and technology investment, says Mr Franklin.
The entrepreneurs recently hired three employees in business development roles, taking their staff count to five. Their first target is to expand into the GCC, with Saudi Arabia being the main focus, followed by Oman. They are also looking further afield at countries such as Canada.
“Of course, our dream is to have a global app,” says Mr Savic. “So, our purpose is to improve the well-being of the entire population. That is what we are shooting for.”
To help them scale up at a global level, the company’s B2C consumer app is free for users while vendors are charged on a payment-per-transaction model if a user takes up a reward.
The B2B business concept relies on a software subscription model, with clients paying a monthly fee of about Dh5 to gain access to the platform.
“If you look at that across an annual model at Dh60 per employee, for the data and the change in behaviour that we present, it is a good investment,” Mr Franklin says.
Mr Slavic said the platform is also inclusive as it includes all activity levels, even when companies organise football or basketball tournaments to motivate staff.
“You can have teams competing to achieve a challenge of 30 active minutes per day. It is inclusive of everyone, no matter how active you are,” he says.