Okaya

Okaya

Mental-health AI MVP → landing enterprise pilots with the Air Force

AI Startup

B2B

Securing Pilots

Okaya, an early-stage AI mental wellbeing startup, needed to turn a promising AI assistant into a tangible, testable product.

Their challenge: adoption lagged, and without a clear, trustworthy product experience, they couldn’t validate with users, pitch at conferences, or secure enterprise pilots.

I led the 0 → MVP journey, taking the concept from raw AI capability to a polished prototype that founders could demo, pitch, and test in the real world.

The Results

The MVP gave Okaya the traction and validation they needed to move forward fast:


  • Secured buy-in from Space Force during a pitch competition that landed a pilot initiative.

  • Demoed at major conferences (MassChallenge, Esri) to boost credibility.

  • Enabled a pilot initiative with the Air Force that led toward future contracts.

  • Scored 85 (excellent) on usability; real users said “I felt immediately at ease… I even got emotional.”

"Josh has been awesome at helping us at Okaya and putting the focus on making our AI an intricate part of the UX.

If you are looking at taking your startup to the next level, definitely get in touch with him"

Gregory Menvielle

Founder & CEO, Okaya

Validation and feedback

To validate the MVP, I ran targeted sessions with both Okaya users and new participants under high-stress, privacy-conscious conditions. Feedback confirmed that the redesign not only worked, but built the trust and clarity needed for adoption.

“I felt immediately at ease to be open. [Even though] it’s AI, I felt zero judgment... I even got emotional.”

“I did my first check-in and I love the dialog progress. It was really natural.”

“The UI was satisfying and there’s an inherent wanting to know more about yourself and seeing that data.”

“I think it’s laid out very well—I can get help if I need help.”

“If I did this more often, it would really get a feel for what would be helpful for me.”

"I really love the new UI. What a transformation - wow!"

These findings directly shaped final improvements like simplifying iconography, tightening copy, and reinforcing trust indicators at key decision points.

The final MVP secured demos at core conferences, won buy-in from Space Force and enterprise pilots with the Air Force, validated new customer adoption paths, and hit an 85 SUS score with users.

Lessons for founders

A well-scoped MVP with 3–4 critical flows can unlock investor traction and enterprise pilots.

Trust and explainability are a must. They define adoption in sensitive domains, so design diligently the first time.

Delivering a demo-ready MVP in weeks, not months, positions startups to capture momentum and funding opportunities.

This project shows my approach in action: moving fast from rough prototype to adoption-ready MVP, proving usability with real users, and unlocking enterprise traction that positions AI products for scale.

← Back to home

Managing diabetes is exhausting. Every meal means constant math: counting carbs, calculating insulin, remembering to administer insulin every meal. One slip can throw everything off.

I built Steady after seeing my girlfriend, Kiara, face that challenge daily with type 1 diabetes. It’s an AI-powered MVP that makes tracking faster, easier, and less stressful.

Project overview

Steady is a concept for an AI powered carb and insulin tracking app that helps people with diabetes understand how specific foods affect their glucose.

  • Connects food logging with real time CGM data

  • Shows how meals impact glucose trends

  • Helps users make faster, more confident food decisions

This project started as a personal side project inspired by my girlfriend Kiara, who manages type 1 diabetes. The first version explored the problem space and resulted in an early prototype.

I gathered feedback from registered dietitians and diabetes specialists at the University of Michigan along with early user feedback. This project represents a rebuilt V2 based on those insights.

Latest designs

Methodology

Research and organization

  • Consolidated prior research from the first Steady prototype

  • Synthesized interviews with University of Michigan clinicians and dietitians

  • Included direct conversations with people managing diabetes

  • Used Perplexity for desk research on CGM workflows, diabetes management, and nutrition tracking

  • Organized insights and patterns in one place to clarify the problem space

Define the product

  • Used Figma and FigJam to define the problem statement and primary persona

  • Mapped current diabetes food and glucose workflows

  • Designed an optimized workflow for connecting meals and glucose data

  • Created the early information hierarchy to structure the product

  • Gathered interface ideas and references based on this structure

AI-assisted ideation

  • Used the research and product structure to build a foundational prompt

  • Tested early concept generation using Lovable, Google Stitch, and Figma Make

  • Evaluated outputs across tools as an ideation method

  • Consolidated the strongest design direction into Lovable

Rapid design and prototyping

  • Designed the product, prototype, and early brand directly in Lovable

  • Iterated on UX and functionality simultaneously through rapid prototyping

  • Gathered continuous feedback from my girlfriend who manages Type 1 diabetes

  • Refined the product through multiple iterations over several days

Note: Version 2 of Steady is still in progress.

Results and impact

The MVP gave Kiara a faster, more supportive flow, without mental math. She can log meals, get AI carb and insulin estimates, and track everything in one place.

Clinicians who reviewed the prototype called it a clear improvement over existing tools, with one stating they’d recommend Steady over GluRoo as the “superior” option for patients.

"If this becomes operational, I would be more than happy to recommend this rather than GluRoo [leading competitor] to our patients.

It would give the value that the diabetes population needs - so this would make it superior."

Katy G.

Registered Dietitian; Certified Diabetes Specialist - University of Michigan Health

V1: Designs and live prototype

Try the live prototype of the first version of Steady: Open the live Steady MVP

Please note that this is the earlier version of the MVP and is no longer being actively worked on. The design and brand system for Steady is reflective in the 'Latest Designs' section above.

How to explore (takes 30 seconds):

  1. Enter the app and click (+)

  2. Tap Upload Meal to add a photo (or use the sample images).

  3. See instant carb + insulin estimates.

  4. Navigate to History to view logged meals.

  5. Explore other tabs and features!

Important: This is an MVP demo, not medical advice. There may be bugs or placeholder content. For feedback or questions, reach out to josh@buildwithfloat.com

What's next

  • More testing with a wider set of users

  • Exploring integration with continuous glucose monitors (CGMs)

  • Shaping Steady into a real product, with stronger privacy, onboarding, and personalization built in.

We have a working MVP that feels real, so the next step is pressure-testing it in daily life and expanding its reach.

Lessons for founders

A small, focused MVP is enough to test a problem meaningfully.

In health, trust and tone carry as much weight as the feature set.

Building for a real person surfaces more insights than assumptions and personas.

This project shows how quickly a focused MVP can move from an idea to something real in a person’s hands, proving impact before it ever needs to scale.

← Back to home

Managing diabetes is exhausting. Every meal means constant math: counting carbs, calculating insulin, remembering to administer insulin every meal. One slip can throw everything off.

I built Steady after seeing my girlfriend, Kiara, face that challenge daily with type 1 diabetes. It’s an AI-powered MVP that makes tracking faster, easier, and less stressful.

Project overview

Steady is a concept for an AI powered carb and insulin tracking app that helps people with diabetes understand how specific foods affect their glucose.

  • Connects food logging with real time CGM data

  • Shows how meals impact glucose trends

  • Helps users make faster, more confident food decisions

This project started as a personal side project inspired by my girlfriend Kiara, who manages type 1 diabetes. The first version explored the problem space and resulted in an early prototype.

I gathered feedback from registered dietitians and diabetes specialists at the University of Michigan along with early user feedback. This project represents a rebuilt V2 based on those insights.

Latest designs

Methodology

Research and organization

  • Consolidated prior research from the first Steady prototype

  • Synthesized interviews with University of Michigan clinicians and dietitians

  • Included direct conversations with people managing diabetes

  • Used Perplexity for desk research on CGM workflows, diabetes management, and nutrition tracking

  • Organized insights and patterns in one place to clarify the problem space

Define the product

  • Used Figma and FigJam to define the problem statement and primary persona

  • Mapped current diabetes food and glucose workflows

  • Designed an optimized workflow for connecting meals and glucose data

  • Created the early information hierarchy to structure the product

  • Gathered interface ideas and references based on this structure

AI-assisted ideation

  • Used the research and product structure to build a foundational prompt

  • Tested early concept generation using Lovable, Google Stitch, and Figma Make

  • Evaluated outputs across tools as an ideation method

  • Consolidated the strongest design direction into Lovable

Rapid design and prototyping

  • Designed the product, prototype, and early brand directly in Lovable

  • Iterated on UX and functionality simultaneously through rapid prototyping

  • Gathered continuous feedback from my girlfriend who manages Type 1 diabetes

  • Refined the product through multiple iterations over several days

Note: Version 2 of Steady is still in progress.

Results and impact

The MVP gave Kiara a faster, more supportive flow, without mental math. She can log meals, get AI carb and insulin estimates, and track everything in one place.

Clinicians who reviewed the prototype called it a clear improvement over existing tools, with one stating they’d recommend Steady over GluRoo as the “superior” option for patients.

"If this becomes operational, I would be more than happy to recommend this rather than GluRoo [leading competitor] to our patients.

It would give the value that the diabetes population needs - so this would make it superior."

Katy G.

Registered Dietitian; Certified Diabetes Specialist - University of Michigan Health

V1: Designs and live prototype

Try the live prototype of the first version of Steady: Open the live Steady MVP

Please note that this is the earlier version of the MVP and is no longer being actively worked on. The design and brand system for Steady is reflective in the 'Latest Designs' section above.

How to explore (takes 30 seconds):

  1. Enter the app and click (+)

  2. Tap Upload Meal to add a photo (or use the sample images).

  3. See instant carb + insulin estimates.

  4. Navigate to History to view logged meals.

  5. Explore other tabs and features!

Important: This is an MVP demo, not medical advice. There may be bugs or placeholder content. For feedback or questions, reach out to josh@buildwithfloat.com

What's next

  • More testing with a wider set of users

  • Exploring integration with continuous glucose monitors (CGMs)

  • Shaping Steady into a real product, with stronger privacy, onboarding, and personalization built in.

We have a working MVP that feels real, so the next step is pressure-testing it in daily life and expanding its reach.

Lessons for founders

A small, focused MVP is enough to test a problem meaningfully.

In health, trust and tone carry as much weight as the feature set.

Building for a real person surfaces more insights than assumptions and personas.

This project shows how quickly a focused MVP can move from an idea to something real in a person’s hands, proving impact before it ever needs to scale.

← Back to home

Your turn.

Stop waiting for the perfect moment. Your MVP is 10 days away.

Build My MVP

Your turn.

Stop waiting for the perfect moment. Your MVP is 10 days away.

Build My MVP