OUR TEAM

Jonathan aberman, partner

Jonathan is a highly respected and valued thought leader on entrepreneurship and innovation. His work as a venture investor, innovation consultant, university professor and media commentator allows him to experience and connect the many threads of entrepreneurship and technology innovation that are core to the United States economy and its future. When Jonathan talks about these areas, the community takes notice. He is identified as a leader of change and influence in print and television media, among other things has been recognized by Washingtonian magazine as a “Tech Titan,” by the Washington Business Journal as a member of the “Power 100” and by the Commonwealth of Virginia as one of its “50 Most Influential Entrepreneurs” in the Commonwealth.” His experience as a venture investor, innovation consultant, university professor and media commentator gives him a 360 degree perspective on entrepreneurship and technology innovation.  He has been an innovation policy adviser to a number of political campaigns at the national and state political campaigns.

Jonathan has unique expertise in the melding of national security and entrepreneurship with technology commercialization.  He has worked on this issue with a broad range of national security agencies and universities on these matters, including DOD Laboratory establishment, DARPA, the Air Force, the Army, the Department of Homeland Security,  George Mason University and the University of Maryland, at College Park.  He has acted as a policy adviser to state and federal government in these areas.  His activities regarding entrepreneurship and national security resulted in the formation of Tandem National Security Innovations, a national innovation community that has helped national security entities such as DARPA, DHS, SOCOM, and JSOC, and others locate and engage with nontraditional sources of innovation.

Since 2004, when he started Amplifier Ventures, Jonathan has helped to start 16 technology businesses. Among these businesses are successful companies in cybersecurity, mobile communications, internet and mobile content and software. He has helped these businesses grow by providing strategic advice, business model and customer discovery acumen and deal management. His experiences and contacts in the venture capital industry inform his views on technology innovation and provide a perspective that is uniquely available as a technology and innovation consultant. 

Jonathan has a significant media footprint. He hosted What's Working in Washington, a podcast and weekly radio show on Federal News Network’s WFED (AM 1500) examining innovation in one of the least understood business communities in the country. Jonathan's skillful interviews reveal how D.C.that the region is about way much more than just politics. And that it is brimming with creative people who are interesting, engaged and getting things done. From 2015 to 2018, Jonathan wrote a weekly column on the region’s business community for the Washington Post.  And from 2018 to 2019 he wrote a regular column on innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development for the  Washington Business Journal. All of these activities make him a sought-after commentator on developments in technology, innovation and political economics. He was referred to in Forbes Magazine as the “unsung hero” of the attraction of Amazon HQ2 to the Greater Washington region. He is often quoted in national publications including Axios, Bloomberg, CNN, Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He is also an active and regular participant on panels involving innovation, entrepreneurship and technology as well as a keynote speaker at similar events.

During his career Jonathan has helped to create many successful communities of entrepreneurs. In addition to his role in establishing Tandem National Security Innovations in 2013, in 2011, he was the founder of Startup Virginia, Startup Maryland and StartupDC as part of the Obama Administration's StartupAmerica Initiative. These efforts resulted in the formation of regionally impactful  programs including 1776 Accelerator and the iCorps program. In 2012 he formed FounderCorps, a not for profit that aggregated many of the Greater Washington region's most prominent entrepreneurs and promoted mentorship. In 2018 he formed the Tandem Product Academy, an educational program focused on teaching founders and senior executives essential skills necessary to scale technology product-based businesses.

Jonathan’s prior professional experience includes being a partner and senior leader of a number of national law firms, and working as an associate in the investment banking industry in London, England.