A place from which an enterprise or expedition is launched:
— My point of departure was San Francisco.

synonym: jumping-off place.

Roget 293: departure, decession^†, decampment; embarkation; outset, start; removal; exit etc. (egress) 295; exodus, hejira, flight.    leave taking, valediction, adieu, farewell, goodbye, auf wiedersehen [G.], sayonara, dosvidanya [Rus.], ciao, aloha, hasta la vista [Sp.]; stirrup cup; valedictorian.    starting point, starting post; point of departure, point of embarkation, place of departure, place of embarkation; port of embarkation; airport, take-off point, taxiing runway, runway, launching pad, spaceport.    ... show more

A beginning from which an enterprise is launched:
— The point of departure of international comparison cannot be an institution but must be the function it carries out.

synonyms: jumping-off point, springboard.