Kay Koplovitz, who founded USA Networks, served as its CEO and was
the first woman to serve as the president of a TV network, is the co-founder of
Springboard Enterprises, a non-profit dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs
raise funds. They raised 6.6 billion dollars over 15 years for 562 companies,
including ZipCar and MinuteClinic. In 1998, President
Clinton appointed Kay Koplovitz to chair the bipartisan National Women’s
Business Council. She is also an honored member of the Cable Hall of Fame and the Babson Academy of Entrepreneurs. . Media Connect is promoting her new book, Been There, Run That. Here is an interview with one of the nation’s
leading businesswomen and authorities on entrepreneurship:
1.
Kay, you co-founded USA NETWORKS and built it to a
five-billion-dollar company. You are among an elite group of what we call
Unicorns – people who have built multibillion companies. Your book highlights the lessons and
learnings of entrepreneurs who have your same entrepreneurial DNA. How does Springboard help others? Springboard has created an expert network of advisors,
investors and influencers who help to guide women entrepreneurs through capital-raising
and growth phases of their company all the way to liquidity. This is powerful
human capital backing them all the way through liquidity.
2.
Your new book, Been There,
Run That, is an actionable collection of advice-filled essays from you and
several dozen entrepreneurs. What is its lasting message? There
are very few technical barriers to starting a business these days, as there
were when I started USA Networks but still
the most precious resource driving success is
human capital.
3.
You were a pioneering force in cable television, having been the
first woman to found – and serve as president – of a Cable network (USA
Network). What were the drivers that led
you to disrupt an entire industry? I
was inspired by Arthur Clark and wrote a Master’s thesis on satellite
communications in 1968 and was driven by a vision for opening up the television
landscape through satellite connectivity. There were only three broadcast
networks then, and I knew expecting to fight my way to the top at those
companies was a barrier too high. So I had to build my own. It took seven years
of hard labor to get earn my way in, but I always had confidence that I could
do it. I had mentors that added much value and I truly believe that if I had
had access to the advisors available to the Springboard entrepreneurs today I
would have built a 10 billion dollar business.
That’s why we want to share this knowledge network with others.
4.
Entrepreneurs are disrupting and driving change and growth in many
sectors. What skills do they possess
that position them well for a marketplace filled with change, challenge, and
competition? Ah, an interesting question and finally we have an answer. A
recent Korn Ferry research project zeroed in the answer for us. A survey of
Springboard entrepreneurs revealed that they thrive in ambiguous situations and
excel at working through complex problems. Simply stated, they have the
attributes that organizations should value the most and key to predicting
leadership success.
5.
Which industries hold the most growth promise for entrepreneurs
today? The exponential growth of technologies and life science
today make almost every industry a target for growth. I have always looked for
chaos in a market because that’s when there is real opportunity. Having said
that, I think Life sciences such as biotech, diagnostics and devices are
rapidly changing healthcare, and healthcare IT is one of those changes on the
top of investor’s lists. . Enterprise software is big again as well as media
and retail technology Clearly the Internet of things is raising the issue of
security and privacy, and finally, the sharing economy is a response to the
lives millennials choose to live.
6.
One of your book’s contributors says that innovation is about
behavior, not products – and that you can’t innovate alone. Why is this so? Innovation comes from
solving really big problems and in order to know you have something really big,
you have to have customers to valid it. Then you need great operational
execution because it is the only way to build out something of lasting
value. Thirdly, you need great talent
and partners to support you. It’s about understanding how these behaviors, not
just the product or service, drive success.
7.
What’s the key to creating a positive corporate culture? It is important to know
your core values, and that everyone in the company, even if there are only two
or three others at the start, know and believe in these core values. For
example, when I took my first corporate job, I noticed certain behaviors that I
thought were wasting corporate resources. People trying to undermine others
efforts, people taking three hour lunches, a certain amount of back biting and
more. That’s when I decided that when I started my own culture would be built
on transparency, team work, problem solving and cooperation. You have one time
to set your company culture, and it is at the beginning.
8.
How can a company get a better product-to-market fit? Finding customers who are
willing to pilot your product or service is the best way to determine great
product to market fit. In a pilot, you can adjust by what you learn before
taking the product to a broader market, saving both time and money. Find out
more in the chapter, Ellie Cachette’s “Five Tips for getting to Product-Market
Fit.
9.
Is crowdfunding a good way for a start-up to go or should it focus
on getting venture capital? Crowdfunding is relatively new, having just been approved by the
Securities & Exchange Commission in September 2014. In order to be
successful, you must be prepared to produce a well planning marketing plan
including a compelling video pitch, state how much you are raising and what
percent of the company that investment will buy. It is also possible to raise
capital through pre-orders for consumer products, not equity. It is an evolving
market and is right for some people, especially for early stage or angel level
investing. It also validates a product or service and is viewed as validation
by a variety of venture firms.
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