RE: starter cone
There are various cones available from different manufacturers.
You'll find that the cones also come in various sizes, cuts and depth for different spinners ( or in some cases lack of them ).
Try to choose a cone that will offer good contact area with your spinner.
Tower sells the hard rubber cones, which tend to scratch and score plastic spinners.
When I first started everyone told me it was "normal" to score the spinner cones.
Then I switched to a silicon cone, and I have yet to scratch or score a plastic, let alone a metal spinner.... so I learned my lesson.
The material used, and keeping it clean is EXTREMELY important.
The softer silicon cones wear faster, but I prefer to replace the cones every few years, instead of my spinners.