Breaking the Glass Ceiling and Raising Capital: An Interview With Kay Koplovitz

Randi Zuckerberg
Tue, 11 May 2021 09:06:22 -0700
Lifestyle

I heard about Kay Koplovitz from a former colleague who was a part of Springboard Enterprises. I knew that my friend was doing well, the best she'd been since we worked together years ago in Silicon Valley. But she absolutely raved about all the wonderful things Koplovitz had built, so I knew I had to learn more.

That's why I support this woman's work.

Kay Koplovitz is the founder and former CEO of USA Network and co-founder/chairman of Springboard Enterprises, a nonprofit accelerator that has fostered the investment of more than $7 billion in women-led firms. In 2016, she co-founded Springboard Growth Capital, a vehicle that allows investment in alumnae companies from Springboard Enterprises.
Updated: Tue May 11, 2021

I heard about Kay Koplovitz from a former colleague who was a part of Springboard Enterprises. I knew that my friend was doing well, the best she'd been since we worked together years ago in Silicon Valley. But she absolutely raved about all the wonderful things Koplovitz had built, so I knew I had to learn more.

That's why I support this woman's work.

Kay Koplovitz is the founder and former CEO of USA Network and co-founder/chairman of Springboard Enterprises, a nonprofit accelerator that has fostered the investment of more than $7 billion in women-led firms. In 2016, she co-founded Springboard Growth Capital, a vehicle that allows investment in alumnae companies from Springboard Enterprises.

1) How difficult was it for a woman to break in to television when you first started out?

There were no women running any television networks when I started back in the '70s. And we should remember that there were only three commercial broadcast networks and, in some cities, public television.

I actually got my motivation as a student when I heard an amazing lecture in 1966 on geosynchronous orbiting satellites given by a well-known science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke. It was during the time of the Cold War, and we didn't know what was behind the Berlin Wall or the Great Wall of China. The opportunity to utilize these satellites for international communications that could penetrate beyond those walls absolutely captivated me. It was an idea that would never let me go.

So I went on to write my master's thesis on satellites and their potential impact on global communications. It took me some years of working in satellites and the cable television industry to mature my idea of launching a satellite and cable television network, but that opportunity finally arrived in 1975, with the live telecast of the "Thrilla in Manila" — the heavyweight boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier — to industry luminaries, which electrified the audience and changed the course of television history.

I was there to promote the event, which demonstrated the viability of satellites to deliver a clear signal of cable into homes. It was the night that launched my career in television. Out of that event, we launched Madison Square Garden Sports (which became USA Network) to a national audience two years later. It was exhilarating to realize a dream and lift the cable industry into the television business with a new business model to support programming for the cable industry.

2) Why was television so important to you on your road to success?

When I started college, I didn't really know where it would lead me. I thought it would be great to work in the Foreign Service, take assignments overseas. I liked biology and thought something in the medical field would be great. But I didn't really have just one interest; I had many. That's why I was so lucky to have heard that lecture by Arthur C. Clarke. One of my jobs working my way through college was as a producer at a TV station in Madison, where I attended the University of Wisconsin. So television was not a far-fetched professional path for me.

3) What inspired you to write "Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning to Play the High-Risk Entrepreneurial Game"?

In 1998, President Clinton asked me to chair the National Women's Business Council. The primary responsibility of the council was to report to Congress on the progress of women-led businesses. While interesting, I was more interested in getting women into private equities to raise capital for their businesses. That interest led me to Silicon Valley — the mecca of venture capital — to learn what I could about venture. What I learned was that women weren't being rejected by venture capitalists; they just weren't even connected, with no way to enter the male-led investment teams that populated the Valley then and, I might say, now. So, along with Amy Millman, then-director of the National Women's Business Council, I pulled together a team to see if we could find enough women-led businesses in technology and life sciences to present their companies to venture capitalists. It was a completely foreign idea in Silicon Valley back in 1999, but we did our callout for applications anyway.

4) You often speak about human capital. What does human capital mean, and why is it important?

Human capital is the secret sauce of fundraising and company growth. It is so important to have the right talent inside the company and the right network of advisers outside the company. It is this human capital network that helps you meet the benchmarks for a series of funding rounds, and the internal human capital, or talent, is what drives your team to get you there.