At Wesleyan he ran cross country for four years, was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa and won the school’s Maynard Award as the top scholar-athlete.

[4] After graduating from Wesleyan, Spinner worked in McKinsey & Company’s Hong Kong office as a Henry Luce Scholar.

Spinner turned to serving the U.S. by working to develop marketing partnerships in connection with the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

[9] Spinner has spent more than 15 years advising startup companies in technology, media and retail, as well as founding a small business.

[12][13] More recently, Spinner has become an active angel investor in addition to his role as advisor to startup companies and small businesses in the greater San Francisco area.

He is known as a "connector" within Silicon Valley, introducing venture capitalists to other entrepreneurs,[14] and currently serves as an angel investor and advisor to more than 10 companies.

[10] Public documents released by the White House that detail Spinner's emails to Department of Energy officials confirm this limited role.