Built a fully clickable MVP for an AI-driven insulin and carb tracker in 10 days. Delivered credible demos to use in early expert and stakeholder conversations.
AI Startup
B2C
Managing diabetes is exhausting. Every meal has to be broken down into carbs, converted into insulin doses, and logged somewhere. Even small mistakes throw blood sugar off, which can throw off energy and focus for hours.
I built Steady after watching my girlfriend, Kiara, carry that mental load every day with type 1 diabetes. She’s disciplined and careful, but carb counting is still stressful. The process is repetitive, error-prone, and heavy to do alone.
That’s why I built Steady: an AI-powered MVP that makes insulin and carb tracking less of a burden.
Results and impact
The MVP gave Kiara a flow that’s quick, guided, and supportive. Instead of juggling mental math and multiple apps, she can log meals, see AI carb/insulin estimates, and store everything in one place.
Clinicians and diabetes specialists from U who reviewed the prototype also highlighted its value, especially in how it would help reduce burden, improve trust, and provide insights beyond what competing apps deliver.
One even stated they’d recommend Steady over existing options like GluRoo, calling it the “superior” tool 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 that diabetes population needs - so this would make it superior."
Katy G.
Registered Dietitian; Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist - University of Michigan Health
See for yourself
Try the live prototype: Open the live Steady MVP
How to explore (takes 30 seconds):
Enter the app and click (+)
Tap Upload Meal to add a photo (or use the sample images).
See instant carb + insulin estimates.
Navigate to History to view logged meals.
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@joshcanaledesign.com
What's next
More testing with a wider set of users living with diabetes, to validate accuracy and usability.
Exploring integrations with continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), nutrition databases, and wearables to make the experience more seamless.
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.