How to Think Big and Other Advice from Kay Koplovitz

who found success their own way. Consider this your real world. N b A designed for the new Now. I'm Kim Azarelli and thanks so much for joining us today. K Koplewitz is a television pioneer who has shaped the way we live and watch HEV for decades. The eventual founder, chair, and CEO of USA Network, K became enamored with satellites as a University of Wisconsin student, inspired by the work

of science fiction author Arthur C. Clark. In ninety seven, K launched one of the first satellite delivered basic cable networks, Madison Square Garden Sports Network, which later became USA Network. With that launch, K became the first female network president

in television history. KA is the visionary who created the dual revenue stream of licensing and advertising, which networks still followed to this day, and after building and running the network for over twenty years, Ka helped sell USA Network

for four point five billion dollars. One of the most influential people in entertainment, K complots today is sharing her unmatched knowledge with other women entrepreneurs through two organizations that she has co founded, Springboard Enterprises and Springboard Growth Capital. Enjoy my converse station with K Compliments. So, Okay, thanks so much for joining us. It's so lovely to join him.

Thank you so much. Okay. Obviously, your career has changed the landscape for so many things, whether it's cable television, the way we think about entertainment, women's entrepreneurship. You have been a leader in so many areas, and we're so pleased that you're here to talk to us today. It seems that this goes way back, and that you learned the art of negotiation at a very young age. Perhaps kindergarten is that right, Yes, it is. Actually I was

the five years old at the time. I was in my second year of kindergarten where I, my parents and I were living and my dad had built a new house in the next town and it was about Christmas time and he said, well, we're moving to our new house. And I said to my dad, well, I really can't move now. What do you mean you can't move now we're moving, you're moving with us. Well, I said that I really can't move down. It's a you know, something I've got to do. And he said, well what do

you got to do? And I said, I've got to graduate with my kindergarten class. And he looked at me like I here she goes again, and he said, well, well, how are you going to do that? You're moving And I said to him, well, dad, you have to raise my allowance by fifty cents a week so I could take the bus to the next town and go to kindergarten class and graduate with this is Washington's kindergarten class. That's what I want to do. And he looked at me and he went, okay, but don't you ever ask

your mother for a ride. We're not going to take it, no matter how cold it is. It was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin cold winters. And I said, no, I never gonna ask for a ride, never gonna ask for any help. Just give me my fifty cents a week and I'll take care of it. And that's how I won my first negotiation. Well, that was really the beginning of something extraordinary. The writing was on the wall, as they say, So from that point on, you were sort of a girl

on a mission. And I mean to bring you forward to college when you became fascinated by the potential of satellites. How did that come to be? I was between my junior and senior year at the University of Wisconsin at the time, and I had been working my way through school, working lots of jobs, and I thought, I've got to get out of Wisconsin see something about the world. And I decided to go after Europe with my backpack and five dollars a day and see what was happening and

give myself a little bit of a break. And I was in London at the time and I saw walking around, I saw this poster for a lecture being given on satellites, and I thought, Wow, that could really be interesting. I think I'll go in there and listen to this lecture, which I did, and the lecture was talking about the power of geosynchronous orbiting satellites which had just been launched um in the previous year, and he was talking about how powerful they were and he only needed three of

them to connect people all around the globe. And furthermore, they couldn't be jammed. We are in the time of the Cold War with the Soviet Union at that point time and also China uh and he was saying that this was a way to communicate with people around the globe. I just thought the message was so powerful that there

was an idea that would never let me go. And this lecture was Arthur C. Clark, a renowned science fiction writer but also a well grounded scientist, and he was talking to the class about geosyncritus orbiting satellites, which we took for granted today but just had been launched at that point in time. That was It just gripped me as an unbelievably powerful idea, an idea that would never

let me go. And I went on to pursue the idea that went to graduate school, wrote my master chiefs Sun Satellite Technologies, and I think the potential impact it would have on the communication structure, which of course it has well. That another amazing moment and was a forecast of what was to happen, and from there you write your thesis, and you get into television and you get involved in the legendary Thrilla in Manilla Championship boxing fight. Can you tell us why this was a pivotal moment

for you? Sure? At that point in between, I had worked at the Communications Satellite Corporation, so I really worked in bringing satellites into the communication here in the United States, and at that time in nineteen hour in nineteen seventy and there are cable systems starting to grow around the country, but they really didn't have a way of connecting efficiently. So HBO is in its really early stages that would send tapes around and they will arrive at cable systems

ghetto damaged or torn. It wasn't a really good way of distributing a signal. And along came the opportunity with the Thriller for Manilla in nineteen seth Tower thirty nineteen

seventy five. HBO actually was a client of mine. They brought that to Vero Beach, Florida, UH and I was a representative for them, and we brought that signal via geoshyp critis orbity satellites ninety miles around the globe live from Manila into Vero Beach, Florida and showed the industry and members of Congress that satellites could be used for commercial purposes. Up to that time, they had not been

used for commercial purposes in this way. And that was the night that changed the course of television history and the night that launched my career to launch USA Network. So, coming out of that one incredible championship boxing fight, you changed the trajectory of cable television and you go on to launch the first satellite delivered basic cable network, which was then called Madison Square Garden Sports Network and later became USA Network. Did I get that right? Yes, you did.

Let me just say that, yes, the launch was with Madison Square Garden. It was the Madison Square Garden Sports Network actually brought all the professional sports to cable before ESPN, so Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NHL Augusta National Golf Tournament, the US Open, Tennis, the less goes on and on um and so we broke open the window when sports at that time was really a weekend event. Uh it was you know, the game of the weekend, baseball.

It was life world of sports on the weekend, and uh, then Monday night football and that was it, And I said, why not every night? Sports are played every night every night? So I went after every major league sport brought them all the cable. So broke open that window in the sports arena UM and went on afterwards the renaming the network USA Network and brought in entertainment and broke open many entertainment windows for the cable industry. So I got

plowed a lot of ground for the industry. But it was certainly a lot of fun doing it. There was something very unique about USA Network and that you changed the way the business model operated. How did that come into being? Yes, I uh at television at the time was operated totally on advertising revenue. Starting up a nascent network, there was not enough distribution to rely on. We didn't

have advertising revenue to start with. Maybe two percent of the revenue came out of advertising when we started UM with pilot programs with advertisers like Bristol Myers. But it really you needed to get the distribution. So licensing was what I changed in network television, that the networks paid

the TV stations to carry their signal. I reversed the process and in cable the cable operators paid the programmer to get the programming, so we had to reverse the model really interesting, and that really changed the course of

the way we think about cable TV today. What was one of the biggest obstacles you faced in building your business when I was built of USA network really was a different time and sort of a development of businesses, certainly in the cable industry, and being the first one out there launching a network, I really had to look

for ways to get into the business. There were a lot of contracts in place, access to programming that I wanted to license and so forth, and I had to really create all these special windows and a strategy for not only bringing all the sports major sports to cable before ESPN was my idea, went out and did that, but trying to get into the entertainment networks was very, very different trying to license popular programming from broadcast networks. There are windows that I had to really get into,

But that really wasn't the hardest thing for me. I'll tell you what it was. Back then, women just weren't allowed a lot of places, weren't allowed to go to golf clubs and play golf with the guys, weren't allowed to go into certain parts of restaurants. We want to give you an example that people will understand. It has to be at Augusta National where the Master's Golf tournament has played. And in two I was able to license the rights to carry the Masters on Thursday and Friday.

I was always trying to get more sports during the week and I worked with CBS that had the rights on the weekend. So I was there at the club the very first week of play. And they're on Thursday, which was the traditional day for the media lunch, and we were standing outside the clubhouse chatting UH and I was chatting with Hoard Harden, who was the chairman at the time, and there were about fourteen of us UH and the others were a bunch of guys from CBS

and TVs from Japan. And now we're having a nice time in Hordes. Oh, let's go, let's go to lunch. Time to go to lunch. So we go into the clubhouse and we're going up the stairs and Ord is leading the way. I'm walking up the airs with him. We get to the top of the stairs and it turns around and he looks at me and he said, uh, okay, we'd allow women on the second floor, and I said to him, well, Hoard, what are we going to do about that? That's when women couldn't go to the men's

lunch and room on the second floor. So what do we do? We turned around and went down to the trophy room to have lunch, where we proceeded to have lunch for the next ten years until the second floor was opened to women. So it just as illustrative of some of the barriers that I really had to face in building out the network. And it didn't really have so much to do with the network. Had had a lot to do with the culture. And so that wasn't

the only time. I mean, there were a number of times that I went to meetings in different cities around the country. The meetings were scheduled at eating clubs that were men only eating clubs, or I would be invited to an event to participate in an event, uh and I would go to the event and a golf tournament for example, or golf outing of some sort, and the

same thing would happen. So women were excluded from a lot of the places that men congregated to do business, and that probably culturally speaking, was one of the hardest things to overcome, but undaunted, I persisted, Wow, that's incredible. Things have somewhat changed. Obviously there's other barriers today, but that's a straightforward barrier, not being able to be there. How do they respond to people? Understand you and how did they respond to you? In this people had to change,

as I illustrated with the story about Augusta. They had to change. They had to do something differently because there I was to do business with them, and what were they going to do? Lock me out of the meeting that I was there to do business. That it that they didn't do that they generally thought of something else, you know, that they would do, or they would go

someplace else, so to try oftentimes to be accommodating. But you knew that when you were personally standing there, that that cultural habits persisted for a long time and that for most women they were really frozen out. And that is a difficult thing to overcome. Actually, it's a cultural issue. You must have had this incredible ability to articulate your vision because when you're building new and bringing people along, that's always very difficult. And it seemed that many people

showed up once you laid it out. I think there's one night where Bob It clicked for him and basically said something like, tonight your dream comes true today. Did I get that right? You got it right. It was September thirte the thrill of him and then it was his cable system. We're walking back to the hotel and he said, Okay, tonight your dream comes true and and indeed it did. Wow. And he was the one that I was working with, the partnered with to launch Metison

Square Garden and then became the USA Network. So you ran USA Network for twenty one years. In the process, somewhere you launched the Sci Fi Channel. How did that come to be? Well, I was looking for I had really tried to launch a couple other networks, and at that point in time, early on five years after we launched. Originally the owners of the company, Bob burse Translas company was in a hostel takeover a bit and he wanted

to get some money out. So the Universal and Paramount along with time Ache brought into the company and so they were each of them had a minority position in the USA, but they were the three of them together and I really actually had a deal to buy out the Financial News Network, which became a CNBC that was floarded by said Scheiberg from Universal, who when in the moment sitting in the conference room signing the contract with thal Jones to be my partner on Financial News Network,

he pulled out. It was It was a devastating moment after it worked a year and a half to get it to fruition and so there when there were other opportunities that I had. So when it came to sci Fi, I thought, I know sci Fi fans are loyal and their vocal, they would be a good supporters of the

sci Fi Network coming into being. And I had negotiated the deal to buy the title sci Fi Network from some people who had started as people from Florida who had started, and I was signing the contract to take them out because I didn't want any competition in the marketplace. John Malone at that time had a propensity to bring up competitors or vibe pistons and competitors. I was wanted to take them out of the window. And I had the contract negotiated, they were in the room reading it

one last time before signing it. I got a call from Paramount, who had star Trek. You would think that they would love Sci Fi Network. I got yeah. So stand called me and he said, you know, I don't think this is really a big enough idea for a network and all this sort of thing. Well, I learned something from my first experience of having a partner pull out. I said, well, it's just two bads down because we

just signed the contract, so it's done. And actually I didn't know for sure they were going to sign it, but I didn't care at that point in time. Uh, you know, I just I just was not going to be thwarted again. And that's how it picked up Sci Fi and and developed it. So fast forward. You ultimately, USA Network, after you running it for twenty one years, was sold for four point five billion dollars. How did

that whole deal come to be? Well, there have been the companies that were in the ownership of USA at that point in time kept getting bought and sold and changed, and there were a lot of different people, um uh

in different companies out there. At the end of the day, at the Universal challenged a provision in the contract with Viacom, which had been you know, after we had first had the people from Madison Store Garden and the paramount and so just became Viacom part and they want a contract, so they got control of USA at that point in time turned around. That was angered Bronford Jr. People were stounded that he could win a lawsuit against Viacom at the time. Uh. And it turned around the next day

and sold it to Barry Diller. So that's how it came about. There was nothing I could do about that. I wanted to bube a company. It was not his choice. His choice was to solid to Barry Dealer, so he did and that sort of ended, you know, my association with the USA Network, which came shortly thereafter. So that's are those in the world of business. And I went on,

you know, to do many other things after that. Well, we're glad you did, even though probably at that moment it didn't seem like the path you wanted to take. I would say for women in business, it was a great moment because at that time, after selling USA Networks,

you pivoted. You were asked to chair the National Women's Business Counsel by President Clinton, and from there on you have been an incredible proponent for women's entrepreneur a ship founding First Springboard Enterprises, so can you tell us a little bit about Springboard Enterprises, its mission and how does it work. At that time, it was late into there was so much money pouring over the transform and venture capital and I didn't really know that much about the

venture capital market, but I saw all this capital. None of it existed when I started Madison, Spare Garden Sports and k USA. So I thought to myself, where on the women. I looked around. There were no like five women maybe five, um that you know, we're in the market for venture capital, and I thought, why not? What's happening here? We decided we had to go find the women. We had to go out and see if they actually existed.

Uh so that you know, we thought they were ready for equity investment like venture investment, and we've been a call out. It was just a handful of us just called out to our various networks and webout three hundred and fifty applications and we were overwhelmed. We ultimately selected twenty six of those companies to go through our first scelerated boot camp, and they presented in January of two thousand.

The amazing, amazing thing is that twenty two of the twenty six of them got funded and we've been doing that ever since. A lot of times people think of women's entrepreneurship. Well, first of all, we do know that women have trouble access in capital and that has been something that's plagued women entrepreneurs. But we also know that people think about women's businesses often as small. What's your reaction to that. Oh, it's like fingernails on the blackboard.

I cannot stand the words tall and women in the same sentence. It is that it's just just a monkey on the beasts of women that they've had to carry around for so long. And we are about women buildings, companies to scale and sustainability. We are about going big. We are about creating wealth for women by their own work and product that they're deliving into the marketplace. That's what's really important. We need women to think big because

we are able to do this. I know after building a company uh to afford and a half billion dollar or value, that women can do this. You know, it's not impossible. But what women need and what we are providing to women is the ecosystem that is supportive. I saw that in the first year of sperm Board Enterprises. It wasn't just entrepreneurs and funders, investors, it was the

whole ecosystem. It was the lawyers, the accountants, the business partners, the mentors, it was everybody that you needed in the ecosystem. That's what we built a Springboard Enterprises, and that's what's so important to the entrepreneurs. So many times women have come to our accelerator program and in the first day they're like, oh my god, I have never been in a room with so many bright women who are willing to share their experiences for my benefit. I'm overwhelmed with this.

That's the important thing. Another thing that you've done which I find amazing because I think you just very well dispelled the myth that women businesses are small. That next layer of capital as they move into growth and expansion capital has also been hard for women to get to. Is that why you created Springboard Growth Capital? Well, my two partners in on that are in Springboard Growth Capital are investing in girlth stage companies generally speaking, and get

its targeted in the digital consumer space. Uh And largely we're looking for the growth capital level of companies that are raising twenty million dollars in up We're targeting that so that the capital and the growth stages there to continue to build and get to profitability and get to value for either a M and a sale to a strategic or an I PO. So that's where we are investing capital at growth capital to bring companies up the

growth curve, which is very important. You may not know this intuitively, but when we started Springboard Enterprises, only about one percent of the angel investors or women. Today it's about eight percent of the angel investors are wait. So capital is around at the early stage levels and a

lot of women are investing in women led companies. There is capital there and it can be accessed, but getting up into the next stages of institutional capital and then getting up the stack what I call up the stack later on as they are growing, it's really important to see that capital come in. That's where Springboard Growth Capital is focused. Can you give me an example of that. Sure. The first company that's remembered Growth Capital invested in was

The Real Real in two thousand and sixteen. The Real Real is the leading company and consignment of luxury goods, and we subsequently invested in We've did four rounds of investment in the Real Real between two thousand and sixteen and two thousand and eighteen. It went public as an I p O in June of two thousand nineteen, so it's now been a public company for a little over

a year. It's an amazing story of someone looking at a disaggregated marketplace, little consignment shops and neighborhoods in different cities and saying, I could make this a much bigger business. And that was Julie Waynewright. Julie is a an alum of Springboard. She did come through in two thousand and eight with a different company, but decided that wasn't the right way for her to go. She launched this company

subsequently and has taken in public. So it's one of those great stories of entrepreneurs and women who see a marketplace and can act on it. And I've had to go through and her she would tell you that it was very hard to raise capital in the early days because guys who comprised over of the until recently or of the investors just didn't get it. They didn't I been wanting thing to do with the consignment that didn't get why it would be a very good market for them.

And of course the luxury good markets is important. We need more women investors, We need more women on the investing side. That that will change the equation because when a woman is in the investing team at a venture capital company, that company is se more likely to invest behind a woman entrepreneur than a firm that has no

women and its investing team. It's a really stark realization that we need more women on the investing side makes so much sense, right, because you know, women have a perspective that they need to share, and I'm a customer of the real real I would have totally invested in that. One thing that you had also mentioned more on the individual investor side is that we need more women investing more generally, not just adventure capital, but we need more

women putting their money to work. Can you talk to us a little bit about the trend of what women control in terms of wealth and how much they invest. It's such a large figure of the amount of capital that women have control of today in the United States, twenty two trillion dollars, trillion dollars amazing, and it comes

from family wealth. It comes from maybe husband's wealth or partner's wealth, and also earned wealth with women who are building companies of size and scale, so it comes from different sources, but that is a movement that is going to increase over time because of women living longer than men generally speaking in the environment, which has challenges on the other end of how much women have saved, but

actually building wealth. The wealth is even going to accumulate larger, So how do you access that is the real question and what we need to see are like say, for example, family offices, which are becoming a bigger source of capital not only for women entrepreneurs, but for men entrepreneurs as well, and particularly in companies that have the value of the same value structure, the same value focus that they have.

They're not only putting their money in philanthropy, they're putting their money behind and investing in companies that meet the same value structure. We need to see more of that happening because women actually do have access and control of

a tremendous amount of wealth in this country. We need to have them feel comfortable about investing decisions so that it is going to take education, and I think it's an important one, and I think our entrepreneurs that spring are learning the value of investing in other companies that are coming behind them. That's really important. Well, hey, we are so grateful for everything you're doing, have done, and continued to do for the overall communications business, but clearly

for women entrepreneurs. You're unleashing a whole another generation of great companies and we look forward to seeing what Springboard Enterprises continues to do. Thank you, and there's a pleasure to join you today. Thanks so much, Kim, I want to thank you for sharing her incredible experience and insight. Three pieces of advice really had an impact on me. First, follow your instincts and your vision. As an undergraduate, k heard a lecture by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clark.

It sparked a lifelong interest in satellites that, she says, quote wouldn't let her go. That interest allowed her to see and sees all the untapped possibilities that cable TV could offer. Second, ask why not in the early days of TV sports sports were only on the weekends. K asked the question why not every night? And the rest is TV. His three Finally, think big about your company.

While entrepreneurship certainly has its ups and downs, and people often love to characterize women's businesses as quotes, small case career shows us what happens when you think big. Kay thought big about satellite technology. She put her ideas to the test. Now k is encouraging other women entrepreneurs to think big about their own businesses through Springboard Enterprises and Springboard Growth Capital. To learn more, go to Springboard Enterprises

dot org. Made by Women is brought to you by the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio, with support from founding partner PNG