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

Mark, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

The most innovative endeavor in my career spans from my deep dive into software development and programming to utilizing the application of AI in everyday life challenges, particularly in meal planning. Through A Better Meal (www.abettermeal.com), we’ve demonstrated that AI isn’t solely reserved for complex scientific or medical technologies; it can enhance basic tasks, changing and improving how individuals approach weekly routines, like planning and preparing meals.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m passionate about simplifying everyday tasks and leveraging technology to enhance people’s lives. My journey into the world of entrepreneurship and innovation began with a strong educational foundation in Engineering from Texas A&M University. From there, I set out on a career in the energy sector, which is highlighted by the founding of five successful oil and gas companies and playing a pivotal role in the shale boom.

However, my entrepreneurial spirit and desire to make a meaningful impact led me to explore new ideas. I was inspired to find a solution to the challenges my daughter and her family faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in meal planning. I recognized an opportunity to apply innovative solutions and technology, like AI, to assist with everyday “problems”. This realization led to the development of A Better Meal, designed to simplify meal planning for busy people and families.

At A Better Meal, our mission is to empower individuals and families to enjoy healthier, more enjoyable mealtime experiences. Our platform offers personalized meal plans tailored to each user’s unique dietary needs and preferences, making it easier than ever to plan and prepare nutritious meals. With features like recipe import, grocery list organization, and AI-powered suggestions, we streamline the meal planning process and save our users valuable time, effort, and additional costs.

What sets A Better Meal apart is our commitment to innovation and the user experience. We’re not just offering a meal planning app; we’re changing the way people approach healthy eating, one meal at a time. I’m incredibly proud of the team behind A Better Meal and the positive impact we’re making on families’ lives. Our goal is to continue evolving and innovating to meet the needs of our users, helping them lead healthier, happier lives.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I am an engineer with 35 years of experience in the oil and gas production industry. The lesson that I learned and has been most useful in the software industry is the importance of having a skilled team that is dedicated to doing good work. I guess the lesson I had to “unlearn” is that the goal of the company is to optimize the process.

The goal with B2C software is to find out what the customer wants – not what they say they want. With engineering in the oil and gas upstream (resource production) industry, the goal is to balance the cost and the efficiency of every part of the process.

For instance, if I can spend a little more money and get a lot more production, that is a win. In consumer software, spending a little more money to add a lot of features to a screen can ruin the experience for the user. This issue has deep implications for the leadership of any software project.

UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) are often used interchangeably but it is obvious why UX became a job after UI. UI is the process of creating an interface between the software and the user that allows the user to interact with all the functionality of the software. UI is computer or software-focused. UX is the process of making the software “make sense”, be easy to use, and, ultimately, be a joy to interact with. UX is user-focused. The user may say they want numerous features and capabilities, but they don’t use all the functionality and the added complexity of the interface makes the software more confusing to use.

The team is in a constant push-pull of adding functionality only to remove it later to make the interface simpler to use. This is certainly not the streamlined, optimized process engineers love!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I am a constant learner and there were several books I read whose insights I have tried to implement in A Better Meal. Eric Reis’ “The Lean Startup” is something I certainly wanted to implement but wasn’t necessarily very good at. My next project will be more ‘lean’! “Scrum, The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time” by Jeff Sutherland is a book that I will work to implement in everything I do professionally for the rest of my career. I have recommended it to the two non-profit organizations I am involved with, and it is something I wish I had read much earlier in my career. The primary message is that authority needs to be pushed out into process as far as possible. This, of course, also makes team composition even more important, and “Extreme Ownership” (Jocko Willink) is required throughout the organization.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://abettermeal.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_better_meal/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abettermealapp
• Other: https://abettermeal.com/a-better-meal-introduces-mobile-app-to-transform-weekly-meal-planning/