Better Belly started from a personal health struggle.

I was experiencing recurring stomach pain and couldn’t find a product that helped me meaningfully connect food, symptoms, and emotional state.

Existing apps focused on calorie counting.

None focused on pattern recognition for gut health.

Better Belly was built to:

• Track food entries simply
• Log stomach pain & symptoms
• Identify behavioral patterns
• Empower users to feel in control

The long-term vision was to build a contextual “second brain” for health — starting with food.

My Role
Co-Founder & Head of Design

• Product vision from concept to MVP
• UX architecture & interface design
• Brand identity & visual language
• Messaging & positioning
• User research (120+ interviews)
• Go-to-market landing experience
• Early growth experimentation

Process & Highlights

• Conducted 120+ user interviews to understand real-world scam pain points.

• Designed an intuitive, mobile-first experience for all ages.

• Built a functional MVP using Supabase, AWS, and Next.js.

• Implemented transparency features to build user trust with AI-generated results.

PRODUCT STRATEGY

Phase 1 — Food as Entry Point

Food logging is a daily behavior.

It became the wedge into broader lifestyle awareness.

Phase 2 — Pain & Symptom Tracking

Users could log:

• Stomach discomfort
• Energy levels
• Mood
• Digestive reactions

This created a dataset for reflection.

Phase 3 — Pattern Awareness

Instead of calorie obsession, the product focused on:

“Why did I feel this way?”
That shift was the differentiator.

DESIGN SYSTEM
Better Belly intentionally avoided clinical health aesthetics.

We designed for:

• Warmth
• Soft greens
• Citrus-inspired accents
• Friendly microcopy
• Encouraging tone

The brand aimed to reduce shame around food and create emotional safety.

Health products often feel judgmental.
Better Belly felt supportive.

GIVING BACK
During a period of global stress and mental health strain, we offered free annual subscriptions to support users who needed structure and support.

This aligned with our core belief:

Health tools should empower — not exploit.

RESULTS
• 2,200+ early email signups
• Strong qualitative feedback from IBS and gut-sensitive users
• Validated demand for symptom-first food tracking
• Built foundation for broader behavioral tracking system

WHAT I LEARNED
• Behavior change > calorie tracking
• Emotional tone in health apps is critical
• Simplicity drives retention
• Narrow problems create strong positioning