Jonathan Aberman

Jonathan is the founder and Managing Director of Amplifier Ventures (www.amplifierventures.com), a seed and early stage venture capital fund based in Mclean, VA. Since 2005 Amplifier has helped to start 16 new technology companies, including BrightHub, Cardstar, e-Chromic Technologies, Hook Mobile, SpydrSafe and Zenoss, and has achieved four positive exits to date (achieving an average exit IRR in excess of 40%). He is also the founder and President of FounderCorps (www.foundercorps.org) a Virginia not for profit that provides experienced mentors to partners throughout the Greater Washington Region, including George Mason University, George Washington University, University f Maryland, Fosterly and others. He is also the Co-Chair of StartupVirginia, and led the establishment of StartupDC, StartupMD and Startup Virginia.
Jonathan also is very involved in intellectual property commercialization from universities and government labs. He is currently the founder and Managing Director of Tandem NSI (www.tandemnsi.com), a program funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia to bring entrepreneurs, universities and national security agencies together to accelerate economic development and national security entrepreneurship in the Greater Washington Region. Over the last two years he has assisted both the Office of Governor McDonnell and the Obama Administration in formulating policies to promote start up formation. He has also worked with both the Department of Defense Lab directorate, DARPA, DHS, AFOSR, the Army and other national security agencies on various consulting engagements addressing entrepreneurship and technology creation.
Jonathan is also an educator, and he teaches subjects relating to family- and closely-held businesses, including corporate finance, business planning, organizational development and new venture creation. He is currently Lecturer at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. He is also a regular speaker on topics related to business formation and expansion for groups such as the National Academies of Science, the National Science Foundation, the Northern Virginia Technology Council and others. Jonathan is the primary host of LeftJab Radio (www.leftjabradio.com), a weekly radio show on business, politics and current events broadcast on SiriusXM. He is frequently interviewed and quoted on business topics by national and local news organizations, including Washington Business Report, Huffington Post, the Deal, Potomac TechWire, the Washington Post, and the Washington Business Journal.
Prior to becoming a venture investor, Jonathan had a career in London and New York as an investment banker and law firm partner, working for international investment banks (Goldman Sachs, Donaldson Lufkin and Daiwa Securities) and national law firms specializing in technology law (Pillsbury, Fenwick & West and Fish and Richardson).
Jonathan holds a BA (with honors) in Political Science and Economics from George Washington University, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa. He received an MSc in International Economics with Distinction from the London School of Economics. He also holds two law degrees, an MA from Downing College, Cambridge University and an LLM from the New York University School of Law.