Person attributes
Other attributes
Chris Lyons is a Managing Partner and the Head of the Cultural Leadership Fund at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
Lyons attended Georgia State University, where he received an Associate's Degree in Business Management. Additionally, Lyons went to Full Sail University, where he received another two degrees, an Associate's of Science Degree, Recording Arts, and a Bachelor's of Science Degree, Entertainment Business.
Lyons began his professional life in the music industry, first working as an event coordinator. In 2009 he took a job as a sound engineer for Jermaine Dupri, a Grammy-Award winning music producer based in Atlanta, Georgia. By 2010 Lyons had developed a restaurant application called PictureMenu, a digital menu that allowed restaurant patrons to not only view their meal before ordering but also rate the dish afterward.
In 2012, Lyons moved to Silicon Valley to participate in the NewME Accelerator, an accelerator for start-ups led by minority peoples, but in 2013 he accepted a position alongside Ben Horowitz, co-founder of a16z, as the Chief of Staff. After five years serving as Chief of Staff, Lyons developed and became head of the Cultural Leadership Fund (CLF) at a16z, a $16.5 million
fund. The CLF is a limited partnership between Andreesen Horowitz and influential global cultural leaders like Shonda Rhimes, Chance the Rapper, Quincy Jones, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett-Smith. The fund is aimed to bring more cultural diversity into the tech industry. The fund has invested in startups such as Wonderschool, Overtime, and Propel.
