Two college friends,
one obvious (?) idea.
What started as a conversation between friends became a years-long obsession to build the protein bar we wished existed.
2022
A post-gym epiphany
Sophomore year of college. Jason had been taking creatine for years but hated the powder.
One night, a friend mentioned he started a company making oatmeal bars. Something clicked: why was creatine still stuck in a tub?
He went straight to his mom's kitchen. The taste was questionable. But everyone said the same thing:
"Why doesn't this already exist?"
Classes took over. The idea went on the back burner.
Some ideas are too good to be forgotten.
March 2024
Singapore
"What do you think about a creatine protein bar?"
Fast forward 2 years. Jake and Jason were sitting on top of the tallest building in Singapore, there on grants for separate ventures they had started. Jason asked,
“What do you think about a creatine protein bar?”
The idea was officially back.
At the time, creatine gummies were popping up everywhere. But the more they looked into them, the more they felt like the wrong direction. Expensive, sugary, under-dosed.
A bar felt different. Something simple. Something practical.
2025
"This isn't going to work"
The idea was simple. Making it reality was not.
The bar took 2 years. Most people said it couldn't be done. Some weeks it felt like Soar was dead before it ever launched.
Creatine is tricky in food. It can degrade depending on processing conditions, ingredients, and the bar's internal environment.
Cutting corners wasn't an option. If Soar was going to exist, it had to deliver exactly what it promised. So they leaned further into testing and pushed on.
"We went through over 170 samples. Every improvement came with new problems."
2025
Ducking behind cars in NYC
Jake was working in NYC, and most of the early work happened in the margins of a normal day.
Building Soar became an obsession. Everything was abandoned in the pursuit of learning an entire industry from scratch.
They cold-emailed everyone who could help, one email even reaching Mark Cuban. To their surprise, he responded. They spent 3 months talking to his team. The feedback was clear: they liked the concept, but Soar still wasn't real.
If people at the top of the industry are willing to listen, maybe you're onto something.
Jan 2026
Are you willing to sprint when the distance is unknown?
"I can still remember the first bite I took of v178. When you know, you know."
The project consumed them. Two years. Four manufacturers. 170+ iterations. Rounds of third-party testing. And then, finally. They had it.
20g of protein. 5g of creatine monohydrate. 1g of sugar. Real convenience. Unreal flavor. Exactly what they originally set out to build.
The name came from a simple belief: consistency compounds. Small actions, every day, can take you higher than you ever expected.
MARCH 2026
The Arnold Expo
"We’re grateful to be here. This is, quite literally, a dream come true."
After years of work, they launched Soar at the most fitting place they could think of: The Arnold Expo.
Jake loaded 1,000+ lbs of bars into his mom's minivan and drove them to Columbus, Ohio.
They walked into the expo and passed booths with Ferrari cars hanging from the ceiling, G-Wagon giveaways, and more. Then they looked at their setup: some bars, two banners, and a boxing arcade machine they'd rented and customized. They were terrified.
300,000 members of the fitness community were about to give their verdict.
Turns out, the verdict was positive. People loved the bar. They sold out in 3 days and won Outstanding Newcomer.
What started as a conversation on top of a building in Singapore, and really, in a college kitchen sophomore year, had turned into something real.
Consistency compounds. Small actions every day can take you higher than you ever expected.