Alex Banayan is a bestselling author and venture capitalist based out of Los Angeles, California. He is the author of the bestselling book, The Third Door, and a venture associate at Alsop-Louie Partners.

Alex Banayan grew up in a Persian immigrant family in Los Angeles, California. He studied pre-med at the University of Southern California. ^[2]

Banayan's journey to becoming a bestselling author and venture capitalist began in university.

He had always wondered how successful people like Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, and Warren Buffett, jump-started their careers. He spent all his time reading every book on the subject from "Founders at Work" to “Outliers.” However, he couldn't find a book that focused on what he was specifically looking for. To gain seed funding to write his book, Banyan competed on The Price Is Right and won a sailboat.