Kay Koplovitz, managing partner at Springboard Growth Capital, chairman of Springboard Enterprises, and founder and former CEO of USA Networks, will kickoff Startup Week on Oct. 3
Startup Week will take place Oct. 3-7 and organizers have announced the kickoff speaker, Kay Koplovitz, managing partner at Springboard Growth Capital, chairman of Springboard Enterprises, and founder and former CEO of USA Networks. Ms. Koplovitz will get the week’s activities underway on Monday, Oct. 3, at 11:30 a.m. in Miller Plaza with a presentation sponsored by EPB Fiber Optics.
The sponsors bringing Ms. Koplovitz to Chattanooga are Mike and Meg Aiken, Chambliss Startup Group and Henderson, Hutcherson and McCullough.
The first woman ever to head a television network, Ms. Koplovitz is the founder and former CEO of USA Networks. She is credited for creating the business model for cable television networks that changed the course of television history.
Since 2000, Ms. Koplovitz has led Springboard Enterprises, a non-profit accelerator that has trained 627 women-led companies in technology and life sciences to raise capital, as founder and chairman. More than $7.2 billion has been invested in the companies, and to date the portfolio has had over 160 exits including 15 IPOs. Earlier this year, Ms. Koplovitz co-founded Springboard Growth Capital to invest in Springboard Alumnae companies, leveraging the strong brand, deep entrepreneur relationships, and extensive mentor network built by Springboard Enterprises over 16 years.
“We are so excited to welcome Kay Koplovitz to Chattanooga and are thrilled to be able to kick off the week of 150+ events with such a dynamic, influential speaker,” said Nichole Abruzzise, Startup Week’s project manager.
Ms. Koplovitz was appointed by President Clinton as chairman to the bipartisan National Women’s Business Council from 1998-2001 and currently serves on corporate boards of CA Technologies, Time Inc., and ION Media Networks. She is the author of Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning to Play the High-Risk Entrepreneurial Game, and Been There, Run That, an anthology of best practices from Springboard Enterprises’ expert network of leaders.
Ms. Koplovitz speaks regularly on subjects ranging from women’s leadership, entrepreneurship, capital formation, the advancement of women in business, impact investing, the importance of creating a human capital ecosystem, and the transformation of the media. She frequently appears on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business News, and in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Forbes and numerous digital news sources.
EPB will livestream the kickoff presentation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8BIX3PchjA
EPB is also sponsoring Basecamp throughout Startup Week. Basecamp will be located at Waterhouse Pavilion in Miller Plaza and serves as a central meeting hub and event location.
Attendees can view the full Startup Week schedule and customize their own personal schedule at startupweekcha.com.