We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kate Kingsley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kate, thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

The idea for our business came out of the blue. My husband and I had just opened a gym in Charlotte, and a month later, I was laid off from my job. As we were getting the gym up and running, we noticed that while our clients were consistently crushing their workouts, they weren’t seeing the results they wanted. We realized that nutrition was the missing piece. With some extra time on my hands, I decided to get certified in nutrition.

From there, it wasn’t a big leap to see that we could do more to help our clients. I decided to create clean meals using recipes I had developed over the years.

Cooking has always been a passion of mine, and I’ve struggled with GI issues for years. I found that many healthy foods tasted like cardboard, while the foods I loved made me feel terrible. So, I spent time creating meals that were both delicious and made me feel good. These were the meals I started offering to our gym clients. I set four pillars that we would never waver from: no seed oils, no artificial sweeteners, no enriched grains, and the food must always taste good. I adopted a European style of cooking. After all, who hasn’t heard of people visiting Europe, eating whatever they want, and losing weight? It’s all about simple, whole ingredients, nothing unnecessary, and great taste. If we give our bodies what they need, our bodies will give us what we need.

This is how Maple Meal Prep was born. I started with a tasting for our clients, taking their feedback and suggestions, and then offered sample meals at the gym. The response was so positive that I decided to go all in on this adventure, building additional partnerships with gyms and facilities in the surrounding areas.

Once that decision was made, it was full speed ahead. I found a commercial kitchen, explored new partnerships and marketing strategies, and made connections and friends who helped me grow as a chef and a business owner. I tried new recipes and found a mentor to help me scale. We started offering delivery for the entire city and expanded our menu to cover all diet and taste preferences.

In our first year, we’ve grown tenfold and expect to maintain this level of growth. My goal is to bring amazing food that makes people feel incredible to as many people as possible!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The road to this part of my life was winding. My background is primarily in coaching. I was an athlete my entire life and was fortunate enough to play my sport in college for four years. After graduation, I stayed in sports as a program director and coach for several years. I loved coaching for one straightforward reason: I love helping people excel at their chosen path. Watching the student-athletes grow both as athletes and as individuals, and being a positive influence on them, made me excited to get up every day. It made me feel fulfilled.

As time goes on, we often find that our passions fade and our goals evolve. This is what happened to me. While I will always love softball and the opportunities it gave me, and would still give anything to play one more game, it no longer felt like my life. My athletes grew up, graduated, and went on to have their own college careers. It was time for me to make a change, find my new passion, and pursue my new goals.

My husband and I moved to North Carolina. It took me a while to find a new job, so I spent a lot of time cooking. I cooked every day, tried new recipes, perfected old ones, and loved every second. My love for fantastic food had translated into a love for creating that food. This became my passion. I cooked for friends, for Christmas presents, for everyone I could. It gave me the same feeling of fulfillment that coaching had given me in the past.

Over the next couple of years, I had a job and then another until I was laid off right after my husband and I opened a gym. It was not ideal timing, but it did give me the chance to get certified in nutrition and put my love of cooking to work. I wanted to help our clients crush their goals, and nutrition and food are a huge part of that.

Maple Meal Prep is all about offering clean, delicious meals to anyone and everyone who wants them. We provide breakfast, lunch, dinner, multiple sizes, snacks, and specials based on our clients’ requests. We even developed a sub-company, “The Good Bar Co,” that offers our snack bars on a larger scale!

I have no formal training as a chef, and I even struggle to call myself one. I identify more as a business owner who can create delicious meals that help people hit their goals.

Since the creation of Maple Meal Prep, I have never felt more fulfilled or that I have helped people as much as I am now. The style of cooking I use and the constant collection of feedback from my clients is what I believe sets Maple apart from other similar businesses. I personally touch base with every client I have every week. I ask for their feedback and implement it whenever possible. I am accessible and transparent, and most importantly, I care about the quality of the products we produce.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I grew up a borderline perfectionist. This trait served me well in school and many professional settings, but it wasn’t the best fit for entrepreneurship. Don’t get me wrong—striving for perfection can be beneficial, but when you’re trying to start a business, perfection isn’t realistic. If you wait for everything to be perfect before launching, you’ll never actually launch. Nothing is ever perfect, especially in business.

I had to slowly overcome and unlearn my perfectionist habits. Now, I’m finally at a point where I can conceptualize something and put it into action without stressing about it being absolutely perfect. Instead, I focus on executing and iterating. I identify areas that need improvement or change and keep refining the idea. This cycle of continuous improvement is crucial because nothing will ever be perfect, and there’s always room to grow.

Any advice for managing a team?

I am fortunate to have an incredible team. We work well together, share ideas, and execute at the highest levels. I can say with 100% certainty that Maple Meal Prep would not be where it is today without them.

To keep this amazing team, I live by two principles: respect and autonomy. I respect the people around me and trust them to execute their tasks to the best of their ability. I don’t micromanage; I trust them to get their work done. I value their thoughts and opinions and take them into consideration when making decisions. I teach them how to handle different aspects of food prep and completion, allowing them to find methods that work best for them. I’m always available to answer questions and encourage curiosity.

In short, they are my team. Every successful team follows these principles: respect one another, have a clear direction and purpose, and trust each person to do their job.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://maplemealprep.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maplemealprep/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maplemealprep

Image Credits

Marina Cohen