Richard Branson’s Life and Career as an Entrepreneur

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an entrepreneur and adventurer. Born in the United Kingdom in 1950, he planned to become a successful businessman from his teen years. In the decades since, he’s founded or acquired more than 400 companies in various industries for the Virgin Group. He spent the 1980s and ’90s spearheading air and rail travel initiatives, as well as exploring the telecoms industry. He chronicled many of these experiences in his 1998 autobiography, Losing My Virginity. More recently, he has turned his focus to outer space.

Sir Richard Branson is an entrepreneur and adventurer—he’s spent his decades on Earth and in the stars on the lookout for new opportunities and experiences. Here are a few fast facts about him:

1. 1. He’s a knight. Richard is the cofounder of hundreds of different business initiatives and foundations—from Virgin Records to Virgin Unite—and he’s also a Knight of the British Empire. In 2000, the British royal family granted him the title of Sir Richard Branson in recognition of his entrepreneurial spirit.
2. 2. He broke the hot air balloon distance record. Richard forayed into commercial air travel with the Virgin Atlantic airline, but he’s also an amateur aviator in his own right. He crossed 6,700 miles of the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon in 1991, setting the long-distance record at the time. Since then, he’s been to the edge of space itself and hopes to help other people do the same with his spaceflight company, Virgin Galactic.
3. 3. He owns a private island. As someone with a high net worth, Richard has access to all sorts of assets, including a personal private island. Necker Island is one of the British Virgin Islands located in the Caribbean Sea. It’s open to visitors. Richard also oversees Virgin Voyages (a cruise line company) and Virgin Limited Edition (a hotel chain).
4. 4. He’s making commercial spaceflight a reality. Alongside other billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, Richard wants everyday people to become astronauts; he aims to make outer space tourism a reality with Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company. He’s helped launch numerous spacecraft from the Spaceport America location in New Mexico. The head of NASA has commended him on his advances in space travel with Virgin Galactic. Alongside overseeing these test flights, Richard also operates Virgin Orbit (a small satellite company).
5. 5. He worked with high-profile bands. Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, Virgin Records released albums by such seminal bands and artists as the Sex Pistols, The Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, and Paula Abdul. Branson and his partners eventually sold the label to EMI, which sold it to Universal Music Group.

Richard’s decades of experience kickstarting new business ventures has granted him an invaluable amount of wisdom and experience. You can expect these five highlights and more from his class on disruptive entrepreneurship, available exclusively on MasterClass:

1. 1. Defy the odds. Richard has made a career out of taking risks and defying obstacles. “It’s this sense of adventure,” he says, “the willingness to jump in no matter the odds, that’s been the key to my success as an entrepreneur.” Throughout this class, you’ll learn more about how to cultivate this adventurous spirit in your own life and career.
2. 2. Empower your team. You need an empowered team to succeed. “I think the only way that you can encourage your team to take bold risks is if they know that you, as the leader, are not going to sack them or jump down their throat if it fails,” Richard says. “A good leader has to realize that if people stick their neck out and do something really bold, but it doesn’t work out, they must receive praise for trying.” In his class, Richard goes into even more detail about how you can encourage your team to take risks.
3. 3. Explore. Richard believes there’s no reason to put all your eggs in one basket. “In business school, you were taught to stick with your onions, stick with what you know, don’t stray from what you know, just concentrate on that,” he says. “From a very early age, I decided I didn’t just like onions. I liked carrots, and I liked peas, and I liked brussels sprouts.” With this class, you’ll gain insight into how to continually explore new interests and start new endeavors.
4. 4. Find ways to have fun. Richard has a longtime track record as a prankster. “The public want to smile and have fun,” he says. “Your staff want to smile and have fun. And your customers want to smile and have fun. Try to do things that make people smile even if you make a fool of yourself.” In his class, Richard suggests how to let loose even as you build your company.
5. 5. Listen more than you speak. You stand to gain from the input of other people. “Your brain already knows what you think, so you don’t need to hear it all the time,” Richard says, “whereas if you spend your time actually listening to people, you’re going to be learning and learning and learning all the time.”

MasterClass members took away the following lessons from Richard’s class:

1. 1. Get the full story. “[The class] fills in the history of Richard and Virgin, but also [teaches]. . .key business principles around listening to discover a product, finding the right team, keeping your team, taking on big issues outside of your realm, [and] not being afraid to use your voice,” Trinidad G. says.
2. 2. Improve your business. “I would suggest that my business partners watch the class in full to give them ideas on how we can improve our own business and leadership,” Ephram S. says. “We are not starting from scratch, but most of his lessons are transferable from the entrepreneur stage to the maturing or mature business stage.”
3. 3. Learn how Richard does it all. “Highlights included learning about his note-taking habits,” Alexandra C. says, “listening advice, adventures, and his personal background, including music and journalism.”

For additional perspectives on entrepreneurship, check out:

1. 1. Bob Iger on business strategy and leadership: Bob Iger’s tenure as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company saw some of the entertainment company’s biggest acquisitions and successes. Watch Bob’s class to learn how he fuses curiosity, creativity, and candor to grow a business.
2. 2. Howard Schultz on business leadership: Howard D. Schultz is an entrepreneur and philanthropist responsible for turning Starbucks into a top global brand. Watch Howard’s class to learn how he leads a values-based business.
3. 3. Sara Blakely on self-made entrepreneurship: Sara Blakely had no fashion, retail, or business leadership experience when she invented Spanx, her successful brand of women’s undergarments, in the 1990s. All she had was $5,000 and an idea. Watch Sara’s class to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey.

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