People You Should Know: Amy Millman
By: Susan VanEpps
This month we spoke with Amy Millman, president of Springboard Enterprises, which is sponsoring “Dolphin Tank” – a kinder, gentler version of the popular “Shark Tank” TV series — March 27 at AOL. (Interested in pitching? Details about this free event will be included in next month’s newsletter.)
Springboard is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit network of innovators, investors and influencers helping women entrepreneurs scale high-growth technology companies.
What is your background, and how did you come to form Springboard Enterprises?
It was one of those moments where the stars aligned. I was running the National Women’s Business Council in the federal government during the Clinton administration, working to put legislation in place to close the gaps and advance women’s entrepreneurship. In the early days, less than 10 percent of federal contracting dollars went to women-owned business, and back then new technology companies were not considered bankable. This led to me working to introduce women-owned, technology-based businesses to investors, and help them get capital. [Springboard Enterprises was formed in 2000.] I ended up working a lot in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties in these early years.
How did the Dolphin Tank evolve, and how can Loudoun businesses benefit?
During my career I noticed there was an entertainment value to pitch sessions with investor groups. The investors put them together, sometimes at the expense of the entrepreneur, who didn’t know what they were doing. It seemed you couldn’t get in the door, or the pitches weren’t taken seriously, unless you knew someone going in.
We realized a lot of the women were not stepping up to pitch because they didn’t like that agenda. But women need to be a part of this – everyone ought to have the opportunity. So we enlisted the help of companies to help [entrepreneurs] “speak investor,” and added a pitch panel to the end of our day-long events. In July 2000, we held the first event at the AOL headquarters for 400 people. Our approach was to provide helpful, supportive, encouraging advice and give people the right connections. What if you say your pitch this way? Have you thought of this angle for your business? There was a great demand for technology innovators to get in front of the right people and be heard.
The [Dolphin Tank] program has really worked and has grown. People call us now just for this event. We did one for Dell in Rio de Janeiro. We’ve now done sessions in Canada, India, Australia, Los Angeles, and of course at George Washington University, where we are located. The key to the event is to tailor it to the needs of the audience, which we will do in Loudoun. We’ll welcome any high-growth company owned by men or women to apply to pitch at the Loudoun event, or to be in the audience and participate.
Can you tell us a recent success story?
We were recently in Kansas City, and an entrepreneur spoke about wanting to work with girls ages 10 to 18 who want to be racecar drivers. I didn’t know what the potential was for this market, but I said let’s talk about it. As we talked, a woman who does PR for Danica Patrick was in the audience, stood up, and said on the spot that Danica would be involved.
Based on your experience, what overall advice do you have for Loudoun’s entrepreneurs?
We’ve learned a lot from Loudoun’s companies. There is so much wealth of expertise in this area, I think we have to begin to own how we can solve the world’s problems. We are a community of people with expertise in telecommunications, housing policies, labor issues, defense issues, intel. This area is filled with people with the skills, abilities and the vision to make change happen. We all have to own it.