# Investor Spotlight: Ryan Springer of Midnight Venture Partners

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2025-09-27
- Length: 46m
- Episode: 198
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-09-27-investor-spotlight-ryan-springer-of-midnight-venture-partners
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/23164ef0

## Summary

Ryan Springer, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Midnight Venture Partners and High Desert Vodka, discusses the evolution of his firm from Fund I to Fund II, highlighting a strategic shift toward larger, billion-dollar potential deals in the beverage and wellness sectors. He explains the mechanics of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for follow-on investments, the critical importance of founder-investor alignment regarding timeline and risk tolerance, and the necessity of 'grit' and tenacity in early-stage CPG founders. Springer also offers insights on differentiation, defensibility, and the emerging frontier of optimizing for AI-driven search engines like ChatGPT.

## Outline

1. Introduction: Ryan Springer and Midnight Venture Partners
2. Midnight Venture Partners Fund II Strategy and SPVs
3. Founder-Investor Alignment and Timeline Mismatches
4. Lessons from Fund I: Tenacity, Grit, and Founder Quality
5. Differentiation, Defensibility, and Competitive Landscape
6. Consumer Behavior Shifts and AI Search Optimization
7. Advice for Founders and Aspiring Investors

## Topics

- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up, early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Midnight Venture Partners (company)
- High Desert Vodka (product)
- Olipop (product)
- Recess (product)
- ChatGPT (tool)
- Bing (tool)
- Symbiotico (product)
- Red Crypton (company)

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- [Founder vs. Investor with Liz Zalman and Jerry Neumann](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2025-11-22-founder-vs-investor-with-liz-zalman-and-jerry-neumann) (Oxide and Friends)
- [Advice Line with Eric Ryan of Method returns](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-04-23-advice-line-with-eric-ryan-of-method-returns) (How I Built This)
- [How I Built Resilience: Jennifer Neundorfer of January Ventures](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-03-how-i-built-resilience-jennifer-neundorfer-of-january-ventures) (How I Built This)
- [290 - Taylor Foxman is the master connector for CPG's!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-09-26-290-taylor-foxman-is-the-master-connector-for-cpgs) (People of Packaging)
- [Advice Line with Tony Xu of Doordash](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-10-02-advice-line-with-tony-xu-of-doordash) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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