diff --git a/store/ddb/ddb.go b/store/ddb/ddb.go
index adee46a..90917ad 100644
--- a/store/ddb/ddb.go
+++ b/store/ddb/ddb.go
@@ -116,6 +116,9 @@ func (c *Checkpoint) GetCheckpoint(streamName, shardID string) (string, error) {
 
 	var i item
 	attributevalue.UnmarshalMap(resp.Item, &i)
+	if i.SequenceNumber == "" {
+		i.SequenceNumber = "0"
+	}
 	return i.SequenceNumber, nil
 }