springboard(n = noun.act) jumping-off point, point of departure - a beginning from which an enterprise is launched; "he uses other people's ideas as a springboard for his own"; "reality provides the jumping-off point for his illusions"; "the point of departure of international comparison cannot be an institution but must be the function it carries out"
springboard, n.
1 a springy board giving impetus in leaping, diving, etc.
2 a source of impetus in any activity.
3 US & Austral. a platform inserted in the side of a tree, on which a lumberjack stands to chop at some height from the ground.