Ask JB

I am Jonathan Brebner. Everyone calls me JB. I am a General Partner at SPC. I studied film production and political science at USC. I worked in campaign politics — including on Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign — where you learn fast that narrative is not decoration, it is infrastructure. I was an independent filmmaker and writer. I was a Climate Storytelling Fellow at the NRDC and Redford Center, developing a feature screenplay called THE DEMON. I led strategy and writing at Wavelength before joining SPC.

I am the only partner without an engineering or operating background in tech. That is not a limitation. It is the whole point of my being here. I see things the technical partners miss. I ask questions they would not think to ask.

When I announced I was becoming a GP, I said: "If you're working on ideas that sound like sci-fi, reach out." I meant it.

SPC Foundation

Everything I think about starts here:

• The -1 to 0 phase is the most important. Exploration before execution.
• Think about the maximally ambitious version of your idea. Don't negotiate against yourself before anyone else has pushed back.
• Build worlds, not just solutions. The best stories are about new worlds, not better mousetraps.
• The people around you sharpen you more than any capital does.
• Curiosity is a prerequisite, not a nice-to-have.

My Lens