‘Fitness app for Gen Z’ Steppen secures $1.65m funding

Afterpay co-founder Anthony Eisen is among those backing an app for under 30s, described as a mash-up of TikTok and traditional workout videos.

Steppen co-founders Dave Slutzkin, Cara Davies and Jake Carp.

Gen Z fitness app Steppen has closed a $1.65m funding round despite deteriorating macroeconomic conditions for tech start-ups – and it has secured some highly credentialed backers.

Afterpay co-founder Anthony Eisen has joined Galileo Ventures, Flying Fox Ventures, LaunchVic, Startmate and Jagen, the family office of the billionaire Liberman family, in backing the app.

Steppen chief executive Cara Davies, a Gen Z who co-founded the Melbourne start-up with high school friend Jake Carp and seasoned entrepreneur Dave Slutzkin, said the funding round has allowed her to hire five new employees, as the app passes 325,000 downloads.

Steppen users have viewed more than three million exercise videos and completed over 75,000 workouts in the app, which combines social media interactivity, like that on TikTok or Instagram, with user-made workout videos.

Its users are mostly in the US, and the app is structured around short five-minute sessions in which users track their fitness activity and set their next session for the following day.

“As we proceeded with the funding round, we heard from our investors ‘close it ASAP’ as the funding environment is quickly tightening,” Ms Davies told The Australian.

“We appreciate the funding environment has changed a lot since 2021 where it seemed like huge rounds were announced every single week.

“The changing investment landscape has naturally changed our business strategy. We are now focused on ensuring strong business fundamentals compared to before our focus was just ‘grow, grow, grow’.”

Steppen’s secret sauce is a combination of behavioural science, habit-formation loops, bite-sized activity and short-term achievable goals, Ms Davies said.

“Existing health and fitness apps ignore the behavioural trends of young people which inherently keeps them motivated and engaged,” she said.

“Steppen is able to demonstrate progress when it otherwise may not be visible. This is the key to keeping Gen Zers motivated and consistent towards their fitness goals. We are looking forward to officially launching the next iteration of our product in early November.”

The company’s $1.65m funding round was led by up-and-coming venture capital fund Galileo, with participation from Afterpay co-founder Anthony Eisen, Flying Fox, Victorian start-up agency LaunchVic through its female-focused Alice Anderson Fund, as well as Startmate and the Jagen family office. It did not disclose its valuation.

“We’re pumped to be backing Steppen Fitness,” Galileo partner James Alexander said.

Galileo founders James Alexander and Hugh Stephens.

“They are exceptional emerging founders with a big ambition to become the world’s most popular fitness app for Gen Z. In a world full of fake influencers and questionable viral trends, enabling positive fitness behaviours is extremely important.”

Steppen co-founder Jake Carp said he wanted it to be considered as the number-one fitness app for Gen Z users globally.

“The sheer magnitude of our impact on the one billion-plus Gen Z population is what truly excites us,” Mr Carp said.

“We started Steppen to address the physical and mental health crisis that is plaguing our generation. Every single workout completed or activity logged is a sign we are one step closer to fulfilling our mission.”