Cyan Banister
InvestorCo-founder & General Partner at Long Journey Ventures
San Francisco, CA
Writes $100K – $1M checks · typically $500K
Photo: TechCrunch, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons ↗
About
Cyan Banister was an early angel investor in Uber, SpaceX and Postmates, and later became the first female investing partner at Founders Fund. She now invests through Long Journey Ventures, the early-stage firm she runs with Arielle Zuckerberg and Lee Jacobs, which closed its fourth fund in 2025. Largely self-taught after a period of homelessness in her youth, she is known for backing unconventional founders on instinct honed outside traditional networks.
Likely email· guessed from name + firm domain, not firm-published
- c•••@longjourney.vcreveal75% confident
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechFintechHardwareHealthtechSaaS
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Banister co-founded Zivity, an adult-themed social networking and subscription photography platform, in 2007. Banister is a co-founder of Thankroll.
- Charities
- In 2015 the UCLA First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic was renamed the Scott & Cyan Banister First Amendment Clinic in recognition of the Banisters' gift in support of the clinic.
- Communities
- Banister spoke publicly at the 2018 TechCrunch Disrupt conference about her journey from living on the streets as a homeless teen to becoming a venture capitalist.
- Awards
- Cyan Banister and her husband Scott Banister won the Angel of the Year Crunchie award at the 2016 TechCrunch ceremonies.
- Hobbies
- Banister says she likes to leave space for adventure in her day and will make decisions with a roll of dice.
- Family
- She lives with her husband Scott Banister in San Francisco.
- More
- She identifies as a socially liberal libertarian and came out in 2016 as genderqueer.
From published sources — common ground for a warm intro.
Experience
- The Ugly DucklingAuthorcurrent2020 — present
- Long Journey VenturesInvestorcurrent2020 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- Banister CapitalOwnercurrent2008 — present
- Founders FundPartner2016 — 2020
- AngelListEv"angel"ist2015 — 2020
- Zivity - www.zivity.comCo Founder2006 — 2016
- Signal Media ProjectCo-founder2013 — 2016
- Hot PotatoInvestor2007 — 2008
- Banister AdvisorsRecruiter2006 — 2008
- IronPortSenior Manager, Security Operations2005 — 2006
- IronPortManager of Strategic Support and Anti-Spam Operations2005
- IronPortManager of Support, Worldwide2004 — 2005
- IronPortStandards and Practices Manager2003 — 2004
- SavicomStandards and Practices Manager2002 — 2003
- Women's Economic Agenda ProjectCTO2001 — 2002
- iAsiaWorksTools and Automation Engineer2001
- NBCiOperations - Systems Administration - Development Support1999 — 2001
- Extreme InternetSystems Admin / Support Manager1997 — 1998
Skills & more
Management80Leadership39Strategy30Facebook13Ruby on Rails5SaaS20Enterprise Software8Ruby8Open Source3Business Operations26Information Security11Recruiting22
+12 more
Start-upsNew VenturesCustomer SupportEntrepreneurshipBeing GoofySoftware DevelopmentMaking the world sexierSocial NetworkingFundraisingCloud ComputingVenture CapitalMarketing StrategyFrom Cyan's professional profile.
Investments
Per curated public sources.
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Cyan BanisterStop Sleepwalking Through Life | Cyan Banister on The Tim Ferriss Show podcast
Tim Ferriss
From Homeless and Broke to Top Angel Investor (Uber, SpaceX, and 100+ More) — Cyan Banister
Tim Ferriss
Deep Dive on Long Journey Ventures Ft. Cyan Banister( Co Founder of Long Journey Ventures)
bizpodroohi
Cyan Banister on Long Journey Ventures Biggest Wins
bizpodroohi
Steal Our Ideas! Cyan Banister, Long Journey Ventures
Sourcery with Molly O'Shea
Steal Our Ideas! Cyan Banister, Long Journey Ventures
Sourcery with Molly O'Shea
2 more appearances
Colleagues at Long Journey Ventures
Aaron VanDevender
Advisor at Long Journey Ventures
Andrew Look
Advisor at Long Journey Ventures
Arielle Zuckerberg
General Partner at Long Journey Ventures
Brian Balfour
Growth Leader, Entrepreneur, & Angel Investor
Carolena Leon
Platform Associate at Long Journey Ventures
Dani Tustin
Chief Financial Officer at Long Journey Ventures
Elaine Wherry
Advisor at Long Journey Ventures
Jonathan Bruck
Venture Partner at Long Journey Ventures
Network20
Ann Miura-KoScout
Co-founding Partner at Floodgate
Anu DuggalScout
Founding Partner at Female Founders
Ariel JaduszliwerScout
Managing Partner at Brainstorm Ventures
Arielle ZuckerbergScout
General Partner at Long Journey Ventures
Avi BharadwajScout
Investment Director at Intel Capital
Brian BalfourScout
Growth Leader, Entrepreneur, & Angel Investor
Cory MoelisScout
Founding Partner at Ground Up Ventures
Dan GrahamScout
Co-Founder | General Partner at Springdale Ventures
David StarkScout
Founding Partner at Ground Up Ventures
Elaine WherryScout
Advisor at Long Journey Ventures
Elias TorresScout
Investor at Array Ventures Management Llc
Eric ChinScout
Partner and Alpha Founder at Crosslink Capital
▶8 more connections
Faizan J. Khan · scoutGenevieve Gilbreath · scoutJustin Mares · scoutMaryanna Saenko · scoutJonathan BruckJudd MorgensternLouis BerylRay Wu
Investors connected to Cyan in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Cyan Banister?
- Cyan Banister was an early angel investor in Uber, SpaceX and Postmates, and later became the first female investing partner at Founders Fund. She now invests through Long Journey Ventures, the early-stage firm she runs with Arielle Zuckerberg and Lee Jacobs, which closed its fourth fund in 2025. Largely self-taught after a period of homelessness in her youth, she is known for backing unconventional founders on instinct honed outside traditional networks.
- Where does Cyan Banister work?
- Cyan Banister is Co-founder & General Partner at Long Journey Ventures.
- What does Cyan Banister invest in?
- Cyan Banister invests in AI & Machine Learning, Deep Tech, Fintech, Hardware, Healthtech, SaaS.
- What check size does Cyan Banister write?
- Cyan Banister typically writes checks of $100K – $1M.
- What companies has Cyan Banister invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Affirm, Carta, DeepMind, Flexport, HQ Trivia, Niantic, Opendoor, Postmates, SpaceX, Thumbtack, Uber, Yass.
- What awards has Cyan Banister received?
- Cyan Banister and her husband Scott Banister won the Angel of the Year Crunchie award at the 2016 TechCrunch ceremonies.
- What podcasts and interviews feature Cyan Banister?
- Tracked appearances include "Stop Sleepwalking Through Life | Cyan Banister on The Tim Ferriss Show podcast", "From Homeless and Broke to Top Angel Investor (Uber, SpaceX, and 100+ More) — Cyan Banister", "Deep Dive on Long Journey Ventures Ft. Cyan Banister( Co Founder of Long Journey Ventures)", and 5 more.
Paths to reach Cyan
People who overlapped with Cyan at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
Together at Long Journey VenturesCyan: Co-founder & General Partner
Lee Jacobs2020–2026Entrepreneur, investor, and cofounder of EdelweissUniversity of PennsylvaniaArielle Zuckerberg2022–2026General Partner at Long Journey VenturesJonathan Bruck2020–2026Venture Partner at Long Journey VenturesJustin Mares2022–2026Building companies at the intersection of health and technology.University of PittsburghPascal Levy-Garboua2020–2026Venture Partner at Long Journey VenturesÉcole Polytechnique · Lycée Henri IV · Lycée Janson de SaillyBrian Balfour2020–2026Growth Leader, Entrepreneur, & Angel InvestorUniversity of Michigan
Together at Founders FundCyan: Partner
Peter Thiel2016–2020Co-founder & Partner at Founders FundKeith Rabois2019–2020Managing Director at Khosla VenturesHarvard Law SchoolBrian Singerman2016–2020Co-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders FundTrae Stephens2016–2020Partner at Founders Fund and co-founder of AndurilDelian Asparouhov2019–2020Partner at Founders Fund and co-founder of VardaMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyKevin Hartz2016–2020Co-Founder & General Partner at BA CapitalUniversity of Oxford
Together at AngelListCyan: Ev"angel"ist
Helen Min2019–2020Early-stage investor and marketing advisor to startupsUniversity of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business · University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignLee Jacobs2015–2020Entrepreneur, investor, and cofounder of EdelweissUniversity of PennsylvaniaMatt Mochary2017–2020Investor at Fortius VenturesNorthwestern University - Kellogg School of Management · Yale UniversityAlex Norman2016–2020Partner at N49PMcGill University · The Wharton SchoolPhilipp Stauffer2015–2020Founder & General Partner at FYRFLY Venture PartnersThe Wharton SchoolNicolai Wadstrom2015–2020Partner, Co-Head of Ares Venture Capital and AI & Innovation Groups at BootstrapLabs
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Together at NBCiCyan: Operations - Systems Administration - Development Support
Shared employers
Also worked at Founders Fund36
Peter ThielCo-founder & Partner at Founders FundKeith RaboisManaging Director at Khosla VenturesBrian SingermanCo-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders FundTrae StephensPartner at Founders Fund and co-founder of AndurilDelian AsparouhovPartner at Founders Fund and co-founder of VardaLuke NosekCo-founder of PayPal; co-founder of Gigafund
+ 30 more
Also worked at AngelList70
Wesley ChanInvestor at Felicis VenturesHelen MinEarly-stage investor and marketing advisor to startupsMehul KumarInvestor at FJ LabsBrendan BakerPartner at Rackhouse Venture Management LpLee JacobsEntrepreneur, investor, and cofounder of EdelweissMatt MocharyInvestor at Fortius Ventures
+ 64 more
Also worked at IronPort355
Peter FentonGeneral Partner at BenchmarkMike VolpiInvestor at Index VenturesAdamAdvisor at Clear VenturesHowardAdvisor at Clear VenturesWendy XiaoPartner at NorthzoneClay RobbinsForward Deployed Partner at Slow Ventures
+ 349 more
