Leaving a comfortable job and starting your own venture may sound exciting but it’s definitely no child’s play. Yet, Priya Prakash, founder of HealthSetGo, decided to set out on this strenuous adventure all by herself. A fitness freak who is adept at weightlifting and gymnastics, Priya is very dedicated to the cause of health and nutrition. Interviewing her makes one thing absolutely clear: nothing can stop those with entrepreneurial spirit. Read on to find out more about her and her startup, HealthSetGo :
Tell us something about yourself.
I’m a young entrepreneur in the field of healthcare with the aim of impacting millions of lives around the world. I studied at The Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh, and graduated in Math Honours from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. I then entered the field of Finance and worked with a hedge fund for a year, before moving on to the education industry. I always knew that I wanted to start something that was not only my passion but would also create a positive and lasting change in the world. In the last few years of my life, I went through a personal health transformation that led me to understand the importance of being healthy from the very beginning. This is how I made the connection between schools, children and health. And so, HealthSetGo came into being.
What is HealthSetGo about?
HealthSetGo believes in empowering individuals with the knowledge on how to lead a healthy life. We work specifically with schools to create a healthy environment for children and inculcate good habits in them so that they can understand the importance of health at an early age. Parents are also a part of this discussion: we hold awareness sessions between our experts and parents throughout the year for the betterment of their child’s health, which in the long run has an impact on the society as well.
What inspired you to come up with an idea like this?
Actually, I was my own inspiration (laughs). As a child, I had no interest in sports or exercise. In fact, I used to sit at home with ahuge packet of chips and all the sugary drinks you can imagine and watch TV or play video games. In India, being a chubby kid is cute and people think it’s your ‘age to grow’. But what Indian parents don’t realise is that all this pampering has grave consequences. It took me a lot of time and hard work but I have now become fit enough to be able to do gymnastics and weightlifting with ease. All of this gave me the motivation to do for others what I could do for myself.
What separates HealthSetGo from other health oriented startups?
HealthSetGo is focused on creating an environment wherein being fit and healthy is considered a lifestyle, not a chore. We have adopted a technology-based comprehensive health solution for schools and parents. Through this, we are addressing the young children of age group 5-17, who are generally ignored by most health providers.
What is HealthSetGo currently working on?
This year, we’re going to launch in many schools around Delhi/NCR. In addition to that, an exciting new Health App for parents is in the pipeline. It will help them chart out their child’s entire health history and get opinions from able doctors. Our new nutrition program will also begin soon wherein health events will be conducted for all the parents. We’re quite excited about it!
Any long-term future plans you’d like to share with us?
We want to make our presence felt across all the schools in the country. The plan is to take the idea of health and nutrition forward through multiple social media platforms and awareness events as this information is both valuable and relevant. Lastly, I would urge all parents to keep a lookout for some amazing health tips and updates from our side.
