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The English business tycoon, investor and philanthropist Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group – the name that covers more than 400 companies. Known as the coolest business personality of the world, Branson has touched every field – media, entertainment, and transport all with a huge success. He, also, holds many remarkable world records to his name. Here is the brief of his inspirational journey.
Early Stage
(How he started?)
- 1950 – Born on July 18, in Surrey, England
- Poor academic results as Struggled with dyslexia
- At age 16 – Dropped out of school
- 1966 – launches The Student magazine from a friend’s basement
- Attracts significant advertisement
- Distributes first 50,000 copies for free
- The Student sold $8,000 worth of advertising
- 1971 – Opens first record shop on Oxford Street, London
A journey of success with new business ventures
From 1995 – 2002
- 1972 – Launches Virgin Records in Oxfordshire
- Due to unpaid tax bill, Branson’s mother re-mortgages her house to help him
- His first artist Mike Oldfield’s album‘Tubular Bells’ proves a hit
- 1984 – Launches Virgin Atlantic Airways
- 1984 – Virgin Atlantic Airlines almost crashed before it started
- 1985 – Starts Virgin Holidays
- Sells Virgin Records to EMI for £500m in 1992
- 1993 – Launches Virgin Trains
- 1994 – Starts Virgin Cola and Virgin vodka that are not that successful
- Fails to win a contract to run the National Lottery
“My attitude has always been, if you fall flat on your face, at least you’re moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again.”
11. Creates V2 Music in 1996
12. 1999 – Launches Virgin Mobile
13. 2000 – Launches Virgin Energy
“Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.”
World Records
- Fastest transatlantic sailing record in 1986
- 1987 – Record for the first hot air balloon to cross the Atlantic
- Richest presenter of reality television
- First person to reach one million followers on LinkedIn in 2012
- 2012 – Oldest person to kite-surf across the English Channel
From a child struggling dyslexia to a school drop-out and from an aspiring entrepreneur to one among the richest people in the world; the journey of Richard Branson has incredibly taught everyone that businesses are all about finding opportunities and success is all a matter of trying.
Image Source: Reuters
