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Venture Capital

What Convinced One Investor to Back Uber From the Start

By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
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By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
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May 9, 2016, 2:35 PM ET
Uber At $40 Billion Valuation Would Eclipse Twitter And Hertz
The Uber Technologies Inc. logo is displayed on the window of a vehicle after dropping off a passenger at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014. Uber Technologies Inc. investors are betting the five-year-old car-booking app is more valuable than Twitter Inc. and Hertz Global Holdings Inc. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Andrew Harrer — Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Sometimes it’s really about being in the right place at the right time.

That’s was the message from Cyan Banister, a partner with venture capital firm Founders Fund, when asked during a ProductHunt Live Chat about her 2010 investment in Uber. Banister was an independent angel investor at the time who also led an artist/fan interaction platform called Zivity.

Here is what Banister said, when asked how she got into Uber’s seed round (which had a pre-money valuation of less than $4 million):

“I originally heard about Uber from my personal driver who took me to the airport. (Roger) He handed me a card and said, “I’m not an investor, but if I were, I would call this guy Ryan Graves — this company is going to be huge!” He was their first driver I believe. Or at least, one of their first drivers. Eventually, his whole family was driving for Uber. He kept handing me cards and after meeting Travis at a demo pitch at one of Jason Calacanis’ Open Angel Forums, I knew that I needed to finally call Ryan. Luckily he let me in:)”

Banister’s husband Scott (co-founder of IronPort) also invested in the round, which looks like it could become one of the most successful seed investments of all time. It was done at a pre-money valuation of $3.86 million (post-money of $5.4 million), compared to Uber’s current private valuation of at least $64 billion.

About the Author
By Dan Primack
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