Richard branson slideshare

It’s very unusual to know that a person who is known for his adventurous spirit & sporting achievements holds whole Virgins Group of business. Yes, you got it right Richard Charles Nicholas Branson, British businessman & investor, is the founder of fortune conglomerate of businesses – The Virgin Group. He landed at no. 12 position on Forbes ‘ World Billionaire list with the income worth $5 billion in self-made fortune. Branson’s career has been checkered & controversial. He had some notable successes like Virgin Records & Virgin Atlantics though he even has some public failures like Virgin Cola, Virgin Racing, Virgin Brides. His bouncing back story, passion for expanding the business by bringing disruptive change & adventurous style is what an entrepreneur can look to.

Currently, Virgin group of companies consists of more than 400 companies worldwide, including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, Virgin Galactic & Virgin Mobiles. He expanded his business in more than 30 countries, including the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Asia, Europe & South Africa. Its core business areas are many consisting travel, entertainment and lifestyle, and it also manages ventures in financial services, transport, healthcare, food and drink, media and telecommunications; together. He even expanded his businesses to include a train company, a luxury game preserve, a mobile phone company and a space-tourism company- Virgin Galactic.

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Early Days Venture

On 18th July, 1950, Richard Branson had born to a barrister – Edward James Branson & Eve Branson in Surrey (England).

Student Magazine

Branson had a hard time with educational institutions. He struggled a lot during his childhood days with dyslexia. Struggling for long-time, Branson dropped out from high school at the age of 16 & started a youth magazine meant for students called Student. In 1966, he launched the publication which was run by Students. He sold $8,000 worth of advertising in its fifth edition. The first 50, 000 copies of it were distributed for free, in spite of this Branson was able to cover the costs with advertising.

Virgin Records – Recording Studio

In 1969, Branson used to live in a London commune surrounded with British music & drug scenes. That time he was in need of funds for his Magazine, so he got an idea to begin a mail-order record company named Virgin. The company performed average but was sufficient enough for Branson to have a record shop in Oxford Street, London.

After the success of record shop, in 1972 he was able to build a recording studio in Oxfordshire, England. Virgin Record’s first song ‘Tabular Bells’ in 1973 by Mike Oldfield was an instant smashing hit &


stayed on the UK charts for 247 weeks. Branson then signed other aspiring musical groups to label, including the Sex Pistols, culture club, the rolling stone & Genesis. This all helped Virgin Music to become one of the top six record companies in the world.

Voyager Group – Travel Company

In 1980, Branson this time expanded his entrepreneurial efforts to the travel company – The Voyager Group.

Virgin Atlantic – Airlines

In 1984, he expanded to Virgin Atlantics airlines & a chain of the record store called - Virgin Megastores. But suddenly in 1992, Virgin was struggling to stay financially stable. So later that year the company was sold to THORN EMI for $1 billion,

--Rebounding Story—

Branson launched a since-shuttered chain of bridal shops in the mid-1990s. And, of course, there's Virgin Cola, the billionaire's attempt to dethrone Coca-Cola -- for which he famously drove a tank into Times Square to announce -- that he admits is perhaps his biggest business stumble. Richard is of view that, ‘ if we succeed1st time, then it can be big story but can’t be massive story.’ His experimental way of doing business had put Virgin on the map & gave it the bold image which turned them into adventurous company & brand.

"Screw it, just do it" is his approach to everything. He loves to give everything a try. Even while starting Virgin Atlantic he faced a lot of skepticism and doubt. But what has kept him continuing with his risky businesses was his spirit of believing in himself. He thinks in a way that if I am able to run one business well then I should run the other one too.

Virgin Radio Station

Branson was totally disheartened by the loss but remained stubborn to stay in the music business. In 1993, he came up with the Virgin Radio Station.



V2 Record Company

In 1996, he started his second record company – V2. Currently, the record company includes famous artist such as Powder Finger & Tom Jones. .

Virgin Galactic – Space Tourism Company

Branson put hands in the pioneering technology with Virgin Galactic. He was always interested in spaceflight since the 1960s. The company aims to offer suborbital flights into space to paying customers in the next few years.

The start date for flights has been pushed back from 2007 several times. Development headaches, a 2007 fatal explosion during a ground test and a tragic test-flight crash in October 2014 are some of the things that have delayed work. His team strongly believes that truly opening space and making it accessible and safe is of vital importance to all our futures.

Sporting Achievements


Sir Branson is very adventurous in nature. With business at Virgin Records and Virgin Atlantic booming, Branson began pursuing challenges of a physical and engineering nature. The CEO & founder of Virgin Group had set world records in four modes of transport - boating, ballooning, amphibious vehicle, and kite surfing.

In 1986, Sir Richard Branson made history, smashing the world record for the fastest ever crossing of the Atlantic on the 72ft Virgin Atlantic Challenger II. He shaved two hours off the existing record with his time of three days, eight hours and 31 minutes. Then aged 36, and just two years after he had started his own airline, launched his reputation as an adventurer with this achievement. Sir Richard teamed up with the six-strong crew including round the world yachtsman Sir Chay Blyth to beat the record from New York to Bishop Rock off the Isles of Scilly by two hours.

Branson's favorite mode of transport is hot-air ballooning, this may be exactly the reason why he had set a world record for it. After a successful boating stunt, Branson set his sights on another world record: crossing the Atlantic by hot-air balloon. Because he knew little about ballooning, Branson trained himself for 3 years by practicing skydiving, water survival, and balloon flight. In July 1987, Branson and his copilot, Per Lindstrand, an experienced balloonist, set out from Sugarloaf, Maine (3rd highest peak in the US), with the goal of reaching western Scotland. Both were successful in making the record, but they had a near-death experience while landing. Again in 1991, Branson made the second of his record-breaking flights, becoming the first to cross the Pacific Ocean in a hot-air balloon. In spite of this, he attempted to circle the globe in a hot-air balloon.

He also holds a record for kite-surfing across the English Channel.

Branson Being Author

Branson has also being an author for nearly 7 books in which he shared his experience of being an entrepreneur. The books he wrote includes; Losing My Virginity: How I've survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way (1998), Screw It, Let's Do It (2006), Business Stripped Bare (2008) & many more.

Current Life

Since 2005, Sir Richard, 64, has stepped back from day-to-day running of Virgin Group Holdings, to focus on his charitable activities and space tourism. Virgin Companies made $25 billion in revenues in 2012. But VGH (Virgin Group Holdings) owns 27% of the 12 largest Virgin companies by revenues. A majority of the revenue comes from fees it charges for lending the virgin name. Therefore, a huge amount of revenue is dependent on the value of the Virgin brand which is immediately linked to Sir Richard himself.

Though Branson has continued his daredevil antics in different ways, these days he devotes more of his immense energy toward pursuing philanthropic and humanitarian efforts, including reform of drug laws, resolution of global conflicts, and environmentalism. We really look forward & acknowledge entrepreneurs like him to set an inspiration for all of us.



Ref:

http://www.biography.com/people/richard-branson-9224520#synopsis

http://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-branson/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3069993/Boat-Branson-household-sold-725-000-saved-scrapyard.html

http://www.businessinsider.in/Maverick-Billionaire-Richard-Branson-On-The-Adventure-Hes-Loved-Most/articleshow/44718830.cms

http://www.space.com/18993-virgin-galactic.html

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225536


http://www.space.com/18993-virgin-galactic.html





http://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-branson/

http://www.biography.com/people/richard-branson-9224520#synopsis