For the past five years, the Singing River Trail Launch Tank competition has given local entrepreneurs the opportunity to win funding to help their businesses grow. This year, 11 finalists competed for a share of $25,000, and Jackson County’s Dr. Mandi Bell was among the finalists with her business, OptiLif.
Dr. Bell has served Jackson County for the past 17 years. She has worked as a primary care physician and a hospice physician. For the last seven years, she has specialized in aesthetics and wellness, helping patients look and feel their best. Bell came up with the idea of OptiLif as a way for patients to extend what they learn from their office visits into their daily lives.
“OptiLif is a lifestyle optimization platform designed to make healthy living simple, structured and sustainable — especially for busy families,” Bell said. “It combines personalized nutrition planning, fitness guidance, sleep optimization and habit-based behavior support into one cohesive system.”
Bell began the development of OptiLif in 2024 when she recognized a consistent gap in the approach to long-term health. She said the platform reflects a shift from reactive care to proactive, lifestyle-driven health management.
“While I’ve spent over a decade caring for patients in clinic and hospice settings, OptiLif represents the evolution of that work — moving from reactive care to proactive lifestyle-driven health organization,” Bell said. “I am frustrated with Band-Aids for wounds that will never heal.”
Bell said OptiLif helps patients by removing decision fatigue. Through the program, patients receive weekly meal plans, automated grocery carts and daily guidance. Her vision includes an AI-driven application paired with OptiLif hubs that offer in-person recovery services.
“What I value most about what I do is solving a problem I see every single day,” Bell said. “Patients don’t fail because they lack knowledge — they struggle because life is busy, overwhelming and full of competing priorities. I enjoy creating systems that remove friction and actually work in real life. When I can give someone back time, reduce their stress and improve their health at the same time — that’s meaningful.”
Bell said the Singing River Trail Launch Tank competition was an opportunity to accelerate a needed solution for patient care. She said it allowed her to refine her model, gain visibility and connect with others who are invested in innovation and community impact across North Alabama.
“Being named a finalist is incredibly validating,” Bell said. “It reinforces that this idea resonates beyond my own clinical experience and patient base. It also signals that the work we’re doing — combining healthcare, technology and lifestyle systems — is both relevant and necessary. That level of external recognition adds credibility as we move toward scaling the platform.”
As a finalist, Bell won $1,000 for her business. She said the money will go toward development of both the OptiLif Recovery Hub, a physical space for patients to access therapy and support, and an MVP app that will help automate meal planning, grocery integration and daily coaching.
“Our motto is ‘progress is our proof,’” Bell said. “It’s celebrating every little win, realizing life is hectic and schedules change. We aren’t perfect; we just need to keep pushing forward.”
Bell said her work focuses on identity and changing the way people look at themselves.
“As finalists, we were among the top 11 out of 52 applications from entrepreneurs,” Bell said. “Could it fail? Absolutely. But I’d rather never have regrets that I didn’t try to build it.”