We were thrilled to partner with ValiantCEO this past week for an interview where we had the chance to share insights and answer questions about A Better Meal! It was an exciting opportunity to discuss our mission, values, and vision. Below, you’ll find some key highlights from the conversation, but be sure to check out the full interview here!
Mark Semmelbeck is a dedicated entrepreneur and philanthropist with a career marked by resilience, vision, and a passion for positive impact. Known for his contributions to the energy sector and his commitment to humanitarian efforts, Mark’s journey reflects his dedication to making a difference in the world. With a Ph.D. in Engineering from Texas A&M University, he has founded successful companies and played a vital role in industry evolution. Beyond business, Mark’s heart lies in empowering communities and addressing societal challenges, evident through his involvement in establishing orphanages and supporting initiatives to combat poverty. Inspired by real-world challenges, Mark shifted his focus to create an innovative AI-powered app designed to simplify weekly meal planning and empower families to eat healthy. Rooted in a desire to make a meaningful difference, Mark continues to lead by example, shaping a brighter future for generations to come.
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company
Mark Semmelbeck: I’m Mark Semmelbeck, an entrepreneur and philanthropist with a Ph.D. in Engineering from Texas A&M University and a career of nearly four decades working in the energy sector. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to start several successful businesses in the oil and gas industry. However, my work extends beyond energy, as I’ve always been passionate about making a positive social impact and giving back to the community.
I’ve worked on philanthropic projects that are close to my heart, including establishing orphanages in southern Sudan and supporting communities in Africa through His Voice Global. I’m also a founding member of the Good Works Collective, where we focus on breaking the cycle of poverty in Houston and beyond.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, like many, I had a chance to reflect on what mattered most. Seeing my family face challenges with meal planning, I decided to shift gears and use my skills to create A Better Meal. It’s an AI-powered app that makes weekly meal planning and healthy eating easier for families. We help busy cooks build confidence in the kitchen, making healthy meal choices both enjoyable and sustainable.
What specific areas of your business have been most impacted by AI, and how?
Mark Semmelbeck: The use of AI has transformed the software development and creation of A Better Meal and enables us to implement tasks and queries much faster than traditional methods. Most notably, it is increasing the speed of how we implement new features and capabilities into our app. Our team of developers benefits from utilizing AI by integrating it into our internal tasks, such as automating repetitive coding processes and leveraging general knowledge, which reduces the need to build models from scratch. In turn, this technology helps us to streamline the development process. We pride ourselves in being able to quickly respond to user feedback and continuously improve the user experience, which is crucial for maintaining a responsive and dynamic app that meets our users’ needs.
For me, one of the unique applications of AI for A Better Meal is in reading and interpreting images. For instance, our app can scan a handwritten recipe passed down from your great-grandmother and digitize it so that our tool can access, organize, and use it in your meal planning. This makes it easier for users to preserve and incorporate family recipes into their meal plans. Additionally, with AI, the app can not only convert written words into data but also determine the difference between ingredients and instructions. A Better Meal can then use this data to obtain information on macronutrients (like calories, and amount of fats, protein, and carbohydrates) and micronutrients (like iron and magnesium).
How are you ensuring ethical considerations are taken into account in your use of AI?
Mark Semmelbeck: Ethical considerations in the use of AI are important to our team, but currently, we do not use AI to generate individual personas or gather user data, which minimizes privacy concerns. However, as we look to enhance personalization for individual user experiences, we will need to carefully gather, store, and share information responsibly. To address this, we will implement best practices for data privacy and security, including upfront disclosure policies.
Most of our current AI applications are internal, such as applying to tasks like image processing and data analysis as applied to recipe nutrients and grocery list creation. These uses do not involve handling sensitive user data. As we expand our AI capabilities, we are committed to researching and implementing ethical guidelines and standards that are transparent and respectful of user privacy.
Thank you for joining us as we shared our journey with ValiantCEO and answered some exciting questions! We hope you enjoyed these highlights from the conversation! To dive deeper and read the full interview, click here we’d love for you to check it out and learn more!