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A brilliant businesswoman offers inspirational advice and practical guidance on how to break through the old-boy barriers to creating and financing high-risk enterprises. Kay Koplovitz went from selling cable TV services in New Jersey to founding and running the incredibly successful cable television franchise, USA Networks. But when the company was sold in 1997 for $4.5 billion, not a nickel of the sale proceeds came her way. Instead, she was on the street without a job. Why? She didn't have equity. And equity-ownership-is all that counts. Looking for money to start new businesses, Koplovitz soon learned another tough lesson: Over 95% of American venture capitalists are men and 95% of the money they invest goes to male-owned businesses. So how do women get money to fund their start-ups? They don't. This realization spurred Koplovitz into action. She developed a venture capital forum called Springboard, designed to help women develop the networks and presentational skills to get the money they need. In Bold Women, Big Ideas, Kay Koplovitz shares the lessons of Springboard: how to craft a business plan; how to create a winning pitch; how to figure out what investors are looking for and what to look for in investors. Using examples of pioneering women entrepreneurs, she shows us how a new generation of gutsy, ambitious, smart women are breaking the barriers of the old-boy network and forging their own start-ups. Her inspiration, wisdom, and clear-eyed advice are crucial for anyone who wants to create, launch, and finance a brand new enterprise.
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