Interviews
Meet Vy Vo, the founder of SpaceTime, who turned everyone’s frustration with energy drink jitters into a thriving brand. Discover how she uses AI to scale, why she’s saying "no" to retail deals, and her experience finding the first 100 customers.
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Most energy drinks are built around a simple promise: more energy, right now, no matter the cost. The crashes, the jitters, the restless evenings — those are just the fine print.
SpaceTime is built around a different promise entirely.
Co-founded by Vy Vo and her sibling Silver, SpaceTime is an energy drink for busy professionals who need to think clearly throughout the day, not just get a jolt. Each can combines fruit juice, adaptogens, L-theanine, and a measured dose of organic caffeine from green coffee beans — designed for calm, sustained focus rather than a spike and a crash.
We sat down with Vy to hear how SpaceTime went from a frustrated college student's idea to a growing brand on shelves across Illinois and beyond.
The Product and Audience: What is SpaceTime and who is it for?
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We make energy drinks for busy professionals who constantly run on brainpower. Each SpaceTime can contains fruit juice, adaptogens, L-theanine, and a small amount of organic caffeine from green coffee beans to keep you up through the afternoon slump. Our flavors are Orange Mango, Peach Black Tea, and Strawberry Lime.
The Spark: When did you launch, and what made you say "I need to build this"?
We launched in September 2024, which was eleven months after the idea sparked for the first time. I was a college student in my last semester, and while cramming for exams, I experienced horrible crashes and jitters from traditional energy drinks like Celsius and Alani. Wondering why there hadn't been a low-dosed caffeine drink with mindful ingredients that promote relaxation and calm focus, I decided to start SpaceTime together with my sibling Silver.
The First 100: How did you find your first customers?
The first two weeks of launch were purely offline sales, where we went to local street markets and our friends' coffee shops to pour samples and sell SpaceTime to passersby. This strategy helped us generate the first 500 sales quickly and collect tremendous IRL feedback from Chicagoans.
The Reality Check: What is the hardest part of this journey that people don't see on social media?
There are many, many steps that go into making a product from scratch, and then you have to build the brand itself, which is another kind of challenge. People think getting on shelves and retail expansion is glamorous — it is not. It's just the start of hard work and insane focus with the right strategy and execution.
The Milestone: What has been your biggest "we made it" moment so far?
There will never be a moment where I feel "we made it," whether we hit $1M or $100M in sales. The bar keeps rising, and yesterday's win doesn't carry over to my expectations for the next day. That being said, we've grown tremendously this year, and I expect us to 10x our business this year.
The AI Trend: How have you used AI to help your business grow?
My co-founder is a tech nerd, and I'd say we were lucky to have launched our business at the beginning of AI. It made every step possible quicker, from legal and company formation to formulation, marketing, operations, and more. We now use AI to build a marketing research machine and automate almost everything in our business.
The Horizon: What should we be excited to see from SpaceTime in the next six months?
We might launch a new flavor if we hit our goals on TikTok Shop. Constant but mindful retail expansion. We have, in fact, said no to more distribution and retail opportunities than many other brands because we want to support sales every step of the way.
The Recommendations: What are your favorite under-the-radar brands right now?
I'm all about CPG — love watching New Primal and Kailo Bar.
The Shop: Where can readers find SpaceTime?
You can find SpaceTime on Amazon, spacetimedrinks.com, or TikTok Shop. We're available on Faire for wholesale. And if you shop at Hy-Vee, Pete's Fresh Markets, or Angelo Caputo's in Illinois, check out SpaceTime and let us know what you think.
The Connection: Where is the best place to follow along?
We're most active on LinkedIn, Instagram @spacetimedrinks, or @spacetime.drinks on TikTok Shop. You can also find Vy on LinkedIn.
Callahan's Take
Vy is the master of using social media to be the face of SpaceTime. I found her through her insightful and brutally honest LinkedIn posts. She shares feedback and reorders from prominent companies as both business and social proof.
It's a great idea: an energy drink that you can drink multiple times throughout the course of the day. Carving out a niche with corporate offices is a smart move. If you can be part of someone's routine in the office, then you can creep into their routine outside of work too.
I have high expectations for SpaceTime. They are taking it slow and being very intentional, but that just means they are poised to break out and go big.
Available on Amazon, TikTok Shop, and at select retailers in Illinois.
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