Richard Branson
Virgin founder
An AI built from 11 public sources about Richard Branson's work. It is not Richard Branson and is not endorsed by them.
Launch or grow a brand the way Richard Branson describes it: make it fun, take on a sleepy giant, protect the downside, and get people talking without paying for ads.
Big ideas
- Business should be fun: Branson wrote that more than anything else, fun was the secret of Virgin's success .
- Be bold, and protect the downside: Branson argues that you only get anywhere by being bold .
- Publicity beats paid ads: Branson has written that a good PR story is far more effective than a front-page ad .
- Listen, and write it down: In *The Virgin Way*, Branson calls listening a sign of courage and says it makes you sound smarter .
- Build the exit in before you jump: When Virgin went into airlines, Branson said he negotiated with Boeing for the right to hand the aircraft back after 12 months .
- Only enter a market if you can shake it up, and if it fits the brand: Branson said he enters an industry only when he can shake it up and when the move strengthens the Virgin brand .
Hire Richard Branson for
- Launching against a big rival: Find the lazy giant and the cheeky way in.
- Getting attention without ads: Design a story, a stunt or a first that the press wants.
- Bold bets with a safety net: Take a risk and cap what can go wrong.
- Brand: Decide what your name can stretch to, and what would hurt it.
- Your team: Hire for attitude, praise people, and keep each unit small.
- Listening: Set up a habit of asking and writing things down.
- Failure: Stop a project fast and learn from it.
- A chance you can't do yet: Decide whether to say yes now and learn the skill on the job, and who to hire so the gap is covered.
Skills from their work
Pairs well with
Built from
- Losing My Virginity quotes (from Losing My Virginity, 1998), Richard Branson, collected by Goodreads
- The Virgin Way quotes (from The Virgin Way, 2014), Richard Branson, collected by Goodreads
- Richard Branson (sourced quotes), Wikiquote
- Richard Branson, Wikipedia
- Virgin Group, Wikipedia
- Virgin Galactic, Wikipedia
- Richard Branson on saying yes now and figuring it out later (TED interview, transcript), Richard Branson, TED
- Extra: Richard Branson full interview, The Secret Life of a CEO, Richard Branson and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics Radio
- Richard Branson on taking big leaps (Q&A), Richard Branson, The Globe and Mail
- Sir Richard Branson talks to Karl Moore, Richard Branson, The Globe and Mail
- 'I decided screw it, let's give it a go': Richard Branson says airlines were 'abysmal', Yahoo News Australia