Kay Koplovitz
Co-Founder & Chairman,
Springboard Enterprises & Springboard Growth Capital
Founder & Former CEO, USA Network
Ms. Koplovitz is the founder and former Chairman & CEO of USA Networks, the SyFy Channel (formerly Sci-Fi Channel), and USA Networks International, today a multi-billion-dollar cable television network. Ms. Koplovitz ran the network for 21 years before stepping down in 1998, at which time was sold for $4.5 billion. As founder of USA Networks, Kay is the visionary who created the business model for cable networks by introducing the concept of two revenue streams: licensing and advertising.
Since 2000, Kay has served as Chairman of Springboard Enterprises, where under her leadership, the venture-catalyst accelerator has been bringing women founders leading transformational businesses to full parity in raising capital. The value of Springboard Enterprises has been validated by a strong 19-year track record of success with $9.5 billion capital raised, 190+ exits, and 19 IPOs. Companies in the portfolio include technology and life sciences, and in 2014, Ms. Koplovitz co-founded the New York Fashion Tech Lab bringing promising technology companies in collaboration with the fashion and retail industry.
Springboard Enterprises was born after Ms. Koplovitz’ was appointed as Chairman of the bipartisan National Women’s Business Council (1998 NWBC) by President Clinton. During that time, Kay discovered that there were few venture capital and funding options for women entrepreneurs.
In 2016, Kay co-founded Springboard Growth Capital to bring growth stage investments to companies emerging from Springboard Enterprises’ ecosystem. Springboard Growth Capital is leveraging the strong brand, deep entrepreneurial relationships, and the extensive network of experts, investors, and mentors built by Springboard Enterprises during the past 19 years.
Kay currently serves on the Boards of Ion Media Networks and Veniam, previously chaired Liz Claiborne (later Kate Spade) and served on the boards of CA Technologies, Time Inc, Oracle, Nabisco, Instinet, and General RE. She also has been a long-term trustee for The International Tennis Hall of Fame and trustee (currently emeritus) of The Paley Center for Media.
Kay is a speaker, thought leader, called to deliver opening remarks, talk on panels, participate in fireside chats, and deliver keynote speeches. She is an expert media contributor and is frequently interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Inc., CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg TV and Financial Times. She is the author of Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning to Play the High-Risk Entrepreneurial Game, a book she wrote to inform and inspire women entrepreneurs. She more recently published Been There, Run That, an anthology of best practices from Springboard Enterprises’ expert network of thought leaders.