Paul Reiss and Mike Meadows are best friends who like to work out. What they don’t like is “chalky shakes, bars and powders” in their quest for protein. What they do like is ice cream. So they figured out a way to make delicious ice cream packed with tons of protein and invented Protein Pints, “the most delicious way to get your daily protein intake.”

Along with Chris McKellar, the trio is now selling Protein Pints in stores and gyms from Grand Rapids to Detroit. After winning Start Garden’s Demo Day pitch contest, Protein Pints turned to Northern Initiatives for help in growing their business. Thanks to a Start Garden/Northern Initiatives partnership, each of the 10 Demo Day winners are pre-approved for a matching $20,000 loan.