Open English Wordnet
Nouns
(n)jumping-off place, point of departurea place from which an enterprise or expedition is launched“one day when I was at a suitable jumping-off place I decided to see if I could find him”, “my point of departure was San Francisco”
(n)springboard, jumping-off point, point of departurea 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”