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#143 Female entrepreneurship, startup and funding environment, Springboard accelerator and outlook with legendary Kay Koplovitz
We discussed a few things including:
1. Kay's career journey
2. The startup/funding landscape, particularly for women
3. Springboard accelerator and thesis
4. Trends, challenges and opportunities re new ventures and funding
Kay Koplovitz is the founder and former Chairman & CEO of USA Networks, the SyFy Channel and USA Networks International, a multi-billion-dollar cable program company. Ms. Koplovitz ran the network for 21 years before stepping down in 1998, at which time it was sold for $4.5 billion. She is the visionary who created the business model for cable networks by introducing the concept of two revenue streams: licensing and advertising, adopted worldwide. It all started with her insatiable curiosity about satellite communications, a concept she first heard from author Arthur C Clark and his work on geosynchronous orbiting satellites. It was the introduction of satellite distribution into the cable industry that launched an industry.
In 1998, then-President Clinton appointed Kay to chair the bipartisan National Women's Business Council (NWBC). Her research found that $104 billion in venture capital went over the transom, but only 1.7 percent went to women. VCs in Silicon Valley told Kay they had never seen any women come to pitch them. It was time to open the door to VC capital and bring women in. By 2000, Kay was compelled to launch Springboard Enterprises, which she co-founded as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) accelerator that propels women-led companies in technology and life sciences to raise capital, now powered by a community of over 5,000 industry specific experts. They lift them to scale and sustainability with access to capital, business partnerships and an entrusted global community. In 2014, Ms. Koplovitz co-founded the New York Fashion Tech Lab (NYFTL.com), bringing promising technology companies in collaboration with the fashion and consumer retail industry. Today they are leading Ai technology integration in Retail.
In its 25 th anniversary year, Kay continues as Chairman of Springboard Enterprises, where, under her leadership, the organization’s mission is to present and connect essential resources to over 930+ Springboard entrepreneurs. The measure of its success is in the results. A strong 25-year track record validated the value of Springboard Enterprises’ alumnae, totaling $61 Billion in value since its launch, with 237 exits to strategic acquirers and 28 IPOs.
In 2016, Ms. Koplovitz co-founded Springboard Growth Capital to bring growth-stage investments to women-led companies, building iconic brands with the digital consumer in mind and a path to profitability in sight.
She previously served on corporate boards of CA Technologies, Time Inc., Liz Claiborne, Kate Spade, ION Media Networks, Oracle, Instinet, Nabisco, General Re, and over 25 years as trustee on the nonprofit boards of The Paley Center for Media and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast
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By James Barrood
5
55 ratings
We discussed a few things including:
1. Kay's career journey
2. The startup/funding landscape, particularly for women
3. Springboard accelerator and thesis
4. Trends, challenges and opportunities re new ventures and funding
Kay Koplovitz is the founder and former Chairman & CEO of USA Networks, the SyFy Channel and USA Networks International, a multi-billion-dollar cable program company. Ms. Koplovitz ran the network for 21 years before stepping down in 1998, at which time it was sold for $4.5 billion. She is the visionary who created the business model for cable networks by introducing the concept of two revenue streams: licensing and advertising, adopted worldwide. It all started with her insatiable curiosity about satellite communications, a concept she first heard from author Arthur C Clark and his work on geosynchronous orbiting satellites. It was the introduction of satellite distribution into the cable industry that launched an industry.
In 1998, then-President Clinton appointed Kay to chair the bipartisan National Women's Business Council (NWBC). Her research found that $104 billion in venture capital went over the transom, but only 1.7 percent went to women. VCs in Silicon Valley told Kay they had never seen any women come to pitch them. It was time to open the door to VC capital and bring women in. By 2000, Kay was compelled to launch Springboard Enterprises, which she co-founded as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) accelerator that propels women-led companies in technology and life sciences to raise capital, now powered by a community of over 5,000 industry specific experts. They lift them to scale and sustainability with access to capital, business partnerships and an entrusted global community. In 2014, Ms. Koplovitz co-founded the New York Fashion Tech Lab (NYFTL.com), bringing promising technology companies in collaboration with the fashion and consumer retail industry. Today they are leading Ai technology integration in Retail.
In its 25 th anniversary year, Kay continues as Chairman of Springboard Enterprises, where, under her leadership, the organization’s mission is to present and connect essential resources to over 930+ Springboard entrepreneurs. The measure of its success is in the results. A strong 25-year track record validated the value of Springboard Enterprises’ alumnae, totaling $61 Billion in value since its launch, with 237 exits to strategic acquirers and 28 IPOs.
In 2016, Ms. Koplovitz co-founded Springboard Growth Capital to bring growth-stage investments to women-led companies, building iconic brands with the digital consumer in mind and a path to profitability in sight.
She previously served on corporate boards of CA Technologies, Time Inc., Liz Claiborne, Kate Spade, ION Media Networks, Oracle, Instinet, Nabisco, General Re, and over 25 years as trustee on the nonprofit boards of The Paley Center for Media and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast