We are Tarnjit Saini and Sanni Ishfaq, the co-founders of StepOut – a fitness-tech startup based in Helsinki. We started this in 2019, while we were completing our double degree in Business Administration. We decided to take up entrepreneurship instead of the regular 6-month internship at some corporation.
The business idea was highly inspired by the active fitness & wellness culture in Germany where we were on our study exchange year. We wanted to create convenient learning and earning opportunities here in Finland and beyond, especially for independent trainers. Tarnjit, being a dance trainer herself, had personally experienced the pain points any independent trainer goes through.
What has helped us throughout this journey is our diverse team, where we all have different personalities, strengths and weaknesses.
Entrepreneurship was the only way forward for us to be able to make a difference while creating value. This past year has been a roller coaster ride where we had to be super ready for everything expected or unexpected coming our way. The challenge is to maintain sanity for professional and personal well-being. What has helped us throughout this journey is our diverse team, where we all have different personalities, strengths and weaknesses, but everyone shares the same mindset towards our mission.
Followed by 100% commitment and hard work, entrepreneurship offers us a thrill of achieving little milestones and the excitement of seeing things fall into place. The Finnish startup ecosystem has proven to be a great help to our growth, be it personal development or the startups. Being a part of incubators and accelerators has helped us step out of our comfort zones and widened our networks.
What will take you a long way is prioritizing yourself & your well-being.
As a new entrepreneur you tend to listen to almost anyone with more experience than you – however not necessarily all that advice is the “right” for you. Listen to the advice others have to give but make sure to evaluate it and do what you feel is the right thing to do. What will take you a long way is prioritizing yourself & your well-being. There are going to be numerous obstacles coming your way and it’s all up to you how you decide to overcome them!
