"Dig Through Your Couches. SpaceX Needs It." Cyan Banister on Luke Nosek's Pitch

Cyan Banister put her entire IronPort exit into SpaceX when the rockets were still blowing up on the launchpad. She never sold. It became the best investment of her life. She is Co-Founder and General Partner at Long Journey Ventures, spent 4 years as a partner at Founders Fund, and with her husband Scott Banister has built one of the most successful angel portfolios in the world across 20+ years of investing together:

SpaceX. Anduril. Uber. PayPal. Affirm. Flexport. Postmates. Niantic. Opendoor. Carta. Together AI. Diamond Foundry. Crusoe. Flock Safety. Substrate. Brave. Depop. Calm. Fivetran. Zappos.

Cyan joins Sourcery at Long Journey's HQ to break down how she actually sources deals, why she refuses to chase hot rounds, and what she is buying next in nanotech and biotech. She found Niantic in a customer support inbox at Hint Water. She found Uber by asking taxi drivers what their day was actually like. Her point is that the alpha is in paying attention, and that the best investments arrive as a feeling before they arrive as a thesis.

Cyan Banister: https://x.com/cyantist

Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea

Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy

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YouTube: https://youtu.be/810VlN3lkqQ

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(00:00) Cyan Banister, Long Journey Ventures

(01:13) Inside Long Journey HQ

(02:17) The wild story behind the office mural

(05:32) What Cyan's actual house looks like

(08:08) What the Long Journey logo actually means

(10:41) How Cyan became one of Mafia's breakout stars

(15:42) The first time she's ever had to lie to win

(16:30) What really happens off-camera at Mafia

(18:58) The blooper reel nobody's seen yet

(22:33) The one thing Mafia is missing

(23:54) Inside Brian Singerman's $40-a-month boardgame club

(31:36) Cyan's Serendipity

(43:56) The "why" behind her biggest investments

(1:01:57) Full list of Cyan's investments

(1:04:28) All-in on SpaceX

(1:08:57) Why she never sold a single SpaceX share

(1:12:53) Top Bets: Becoming Bio + Substrate

(1:15:52) Why America's reindustrialization moment is now

(1:19:16) The mentors who shaped who she is today

(1:22:54) Manifesting Rick Rubin

(1:24:00) Real take on the Peter Thiel events