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Every ambitious endeavor begins as an idea. Every great technical achievement was first a hypothesis. Every industry-defining company starts at -1.

At South Park Commons, we think the process of figuring out what to work on next is a crucial part of the work. We call this ideation stage -1 to 0. The journey from exploration to idea to launch is messy, confusing, and frustrating. You could say it’s squiggly. And despite what you might hear from the polished PR that success can buy, -1 to 0 is also universal. Even epiphanies have to be earned.

To explore this critical stage—and how it impacts everything that comes after—we are excited to announce the -1 to Now Speaker Series. We’ll be hosting the most interesting founders, investors, and researchers for candid deep-dives into the earliest stages of their most important work, focusing on what fellow founders and builders can learn from their -1 to 0 journeys.

The -1 to Now series will be kicking off live this month at the SPC community spaces in New York City and San Francisco. Upcoming speakers will include:

Dylan Field, Co-founder & CEO of Figma
Apoorva Mehta, Founder & former CEO of Instacart
Alfred Lin, Partner at Sequoia & former COO of Zappos
Reid Hoffman, former CEO of LinkedIn
Jessica Lessin, Founder of The Information
Spencer Kimball, Co-founder & CEO of Cockroach Labs
Jessica Verrilli, Partner at Adverb Ventures & former VP of Corp Dev at Twitter
Josh Reeves, Co-founder of Gusto
More to come!

These world-class speakers are just the start of our -1 to Now Series. If you are interested in attending any as a guest, sign up for our events list here and stay tuned for news on yet-to-be-announced speakers. And if you want guaranteed access to all of these events and more, including those that are already at capacity or strictly off-the-record, apply for SPC membership. SPC events are always open to community members and alumni.

SPC’s mission is to help builders, founders, and domain experts figure out how to navigate their next steps. Narrowing down all the possibilities of what you could do into what you should do can feel overwhelming. By spotlighting the confusing, demanding, and complex steps of the journey from the world’s best founders and thinkers, we’re revealing the decisions that led to great ideas, great discoveries, and great companies.

If you are ready to figure out what's next, apply to the premiere community dedicated to navigating -1 to 0.

Announcing the -1 to Now Speaker Series