Losing My Virginity: The Autobiography

In this book Branson tells you his life story, talks you through this thought processes and tells you how Virgin did/do business. There are a lot of hilarious moments, serious moments, deep thought and innovative business thinking. Its an easy read - Branson communicates effortlessly, and despite being 500 pages it doesn't feel like it takes long to get through. You can almost imagine Branson himself narrating! There is quite a lot of talk about Virgin and how they built as a company, a lot more about the ins and outs than you'll find on the web. It provides a good insight to start a business and the sort of challenges you may face, arguments with bankers abound and a 'new startup' culture is prominent. Bransons bouncy abrasive attitude comes through strong, including his joy at shaking up established 2/3 player markets. It's good inspiration for anyone wanting to challenge their thought processes. A great example is where rather than trying to get credit for TV screens in the back of 747 seats Branson realises it might be easier to get a credit line for 18 new jets! (which is what happens!) This sort of enterprising thinking abounds. The one negative I found, and which felt a bit off about the book, is you do get a feeling there are things which aren't talked about. There are only a few mentions of serious conflicts within the Virgin group, there are only a few short mentions of when things completely failed (like Virgin Cola; the telling of the Virgin Cola tale here starts and ends with it being a successful startup, not the years when it fails). I feel this is a lost opportunity as great depth and insight is given to so many other things. There is also an element to which you wonder how much the prose 'sticks to the story' - there are a few places where a phrase placing the blame on another company is repeated; it's not to say the blame wasn't on the other company, it just feels the point is being worked a bit hard. All in all though really good book, really good fun, smacks with personality, it comes across exactly like you'd imagine a chilled conversatoin with the man would be!

An interesting account of a young mans life who was not born into an “ordinary” family. The rise in fortunes from a sixteen year old lad starting a magazine to his present entrepreneur status is quite unbelievable. We mere mortals would never take the risks he does! The earlier account of how he acquired more diverse businesses is fascinating....and I enjoyed his exploits taking on world records on the seas and in the air (a rich mans indulgence?)....and his story certainly makes the world a smaller place. However it tends to get bogged down in politics and “being a do-gooder” to save the world during the latter chapters. Although he may mean well his ambitions to change the direction of political and to save the world seems more of a hobby which only the obscenely wealthy can indulge in. Nevertheless an enjoyable read.

Mr Branson is a remarkable character, that goes without saying, but reading his book really does bring it home. I have read many business books and autobiographies of other entrepreneurs (phew, did I spell it right!?), but nothing compares to this one. The book is riveting from page one and you will find yourself unable to put it down. From personal anecdotes and stories, business escapades, and adventurous journeys...this book really packs a punch. Many people have some less than complimentary things to say about Richard, but I couldn't disagree more. This is a kind and generous, philanthropic man who has gone to the ends of the Earth to help others (literally). He is a man seemingly unchanged by the trappings of major wealth, feet firmly planted on the ground. He has achieved great success from humble beginnings, and I for one say good for you Richard! As a business owner myself, I found great inspiration in this book. It is littered with gentle reminders that business doesn't have to be all 3 piece suits and board meetings, we are supposed to enjoy the bloody thing! AVOID THIS BOOK AT YOUR PERIL! P.S. Regarding Virgins near miss with the West Coast train line, this was yet another oafish decision made by an incompetent government, a government completely ignorant of any commercial sense. When will they start to look more towards business people to confide in for political advice, when its clear thats what the country needs! (And I do not mean Sir Alan Sugar, who has clearly exceeded the size of his little size 5's or whatever they are!)

Richard Branson is one of those public figures that you can't help but hear a lot about. Whether it's from an expansion of the Virgin group in some form or in his explorative endeavours, he's someone that you would have heard of. What is less heard of, or rather what I hadn't known about him, was his early life and the early life of Virgin from the days of Student onwards. For me, the first half of the book was incredibly fascinating as he charmingly charted his rise from the basement of his friend's parents' London house into a tomb where he briefly parted ways with his partner. It seems as though Branson became successful by sheer force of his magpie mind that leapt from one venture to the next and it's easy to see why his partners were hesitant about certain steps - such as creating Virgin Atlantic. He comes across as funny, clever, incredibly hard working but, most of all, joyful. If I only had one word to describe Branson, it would be joyful. He takes great pleasure in life and in doing what hasn't been done before and the book, particularly the first half, reflects that. The second half takes a different tone but that reflects his change in age, his children growing up and his businesses maturing. It takes a more political bent that I found quite interesting but none more so than his discussion on the environment and the efforts that he is making to help make Virgin more environmentally friendly. There is, occasionally, the odd bit of name dropping that feels a bit jarring whilst reading but, overall, this is a really interesting book and I would definitely recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in underdog stories.

Branson is interesting because he does not fall into the usual stereotypical slot for entrepeneurs and businessmen. He puts his staff first, his customers second, and profits third. The point of this is that by putting your staff first, it naturally follows that they are happy to treat customers well, and it follows from this that happy customers produces profit. The book outlines how he started his entrepreneurial skills whilst still at school, and in spite of the handicaps of dyslexia and poor academic performance became the success he is today, with his fingers in a multitude of pies. His adventurous exploits also get a good mention in this book. An easy read and a good read.

My wife got bored of listening to me rant about this book and how it was motivating me to start my own company but after the early years it becomes a little boring. Up to the days of Mike Oldfield and bringing in new 70/80's bands it was a great read. As soon as it start to talk about corporate takeovers and share selling/buying it becomes a bit dull, like a list of dates and events. The stories of ballooning and fast boats would have suited being put into another book. The book becomes disjointed and a mix of everything that really doesn't work well. I raced through the first 200 pages and then felt it was a little bit of a drudge. What it did inspire in me was a desire to be in charge of my own destiny rather than being stuck in the 9-5 making someone else rich. It did give me the impression that Richard Branson has come extremely rich by a combination of hard work, risk taking and lucky turns of events. I don't think anyone gets to be this rich without having a massive ego and this books does nothing to dispel this idea.

Interesting autobiography about an interesting person. It talks about his early life, business and personal adventures. Content gets a little repetitive towards the end as if the author tried to put the story into more pages than it needed to have. Also, keep in mind that this is not a business advice book, but rather a book about an extraordinary person, so if you are looking to learn business secrets than look elsewhere. Overall, it is an interesting book to read.

I just bought the book to have not really thinking of it to be that good to read. But after the fist page it just made me want to read more and more. He has got a very interesting life and some of the stuff he says he has dune I didn't even think he would do. It made me look at some of the over stuff he did and only to be left surprised. 10/10 anyone who wants to read about someone different in the business world besides elon this book is perfect for you. It made me want to go out and start a business like he did

This book pulls you in chapter after chapter. I genuinely found it hard to put down each reading session.

Sir Richard Branson hat wirklich ein beeindruckendes Leben hinter sich, sowohl seine Werte (persönlich und innerhalb der Virgin Group), als auch seine Ambitionen haben mich tief beeindruckt. Teilweise ist es echt schwer zu fassen, wie erfolgreich dieser Mensch ist, in so vielen Industrien tätig zu sein und diese aufgewirbelt zu haben ist wohl kaum jemandem vor ihm gelungen. Aus dem Buch kann man wirklich viel mitnehmen, eine Mischung aus Zeitgeschichte, Business und Extremsport. Der Name spricht quasi für sich selbst, deshalb ein paar Kritikpunkte: 1.Gegen Ende des Buches treten plötzlich einige Redundanzen auf, das ist ärgerlich und hätte mit ein bisschen Mehraufwand behoben werden können. 2. Man könnte Bransom "name - dropping" unterstellen - wen er alles kennt, locker nachts anrufen kann oder bestens befreundet ist, macht ihn sicher als Person aus. Stellenweise grenzt es aber an Angeberei, die ein Mann mit einer solchen Biographie nicht nötig hat. 3. Ein nicht unerheblicher Teil des Buches bezieht sich auf Extremsport, hauptsächlich Ballon- Fahrten (einmal über den Atlantik, dann über den Pazifik dann um die Welt) dabei lernt man sicher das ein oder andere, allerdings verstehe ich immernoch nicht, wie man sich als Familienvater und Wirtschaftsführer in solche Gefahr begeben kann. Die weinenden Kinder zu verabschieden, weil man für den Krieg eingezogen wird ist eine Sache, aber für völlig freiwillige und hochriskante Aktivitäten kann man sich das auch sparen. Branson ist wirklich ein Bilderbuch - Entrepreneur, der hoffentlich noch lange aktiv ist und sein Feuer und seine Ressourcen für die Lösung von Problemen wie AIDS, Weltraumflügen und Klimaschutz einsetzt.

Everyone knows Richard Branson and his brand Virgin. Sure, he's a billionaire and writing a book when you're one makes it easy to become a bestseller. What surprised me about this book was its depth about his thoughts and down-to-earth manner which is was written in. Taking the first 43 years of the life of Richard Branson into one book creates a wonderful journey which makes much of us wonder what it would be like. Growing up in the 50's and being a teenager during the sexual revolution of the late 60's and early 70's Richard Branson is being very open about his private life at that stage. I think it is great for anyone to see that entrepreneurs grow not only their business, but more so themselves as well. Putting forward his experiences building up Student and later Virgin Music this has been a great example to see someone pushing his own boundaries each day again. Further down the book, business will get the best of the read and not so much the person of Richard Branson himself. This may be due to the fact that he more or less became his business, where in the first part of his life this role was reversed. The writings are nevertheless as exciting and you can actually 'feel' the growth of business and figures while reading. Having not disbanded the little facts of thousand dollar loans in the beginning of the book give you a great sense about the scaling-up that has taken place. Virgin Music expands, business troubles and failures are mentioned, but always success remains. There can be no adventure without failure. The last part of the book focusses on Virgin Atlantic, the airline. Where the book ends around 1993 much of the British Airways lawsuit and 'dirty tricks' campaign is being written about. Although these chapters were a great read and blows the mind of any James Bond loving viewer, I think the total chapters are out of proportion. Feelings are noted, but Richard Branson as a person and what it did to his private life are missing out. Sure, the lawsuit was a gruelling experience, as anyone can understand who once had one. It is the wonder of how he could remain doing business in his 'fun and positive' way while going through this process what interests me most. This book has been a great read and could be a valuable experience when you're in business. Forget about the billionaire, read about the entrepreneur.

Si tienes curiosidad por el grupo Virgin y su fundador, 100% recomendable. Escrito en un nivel de inglés "asumible"

I enjoyed Richard Branson's 'warts and all' story of his life because he was very open and honest. He seemed to be very clever and resourceful from an early age, which stood him in good stead for most of his future business ventures. I liked hearing about his early life, and his family - made him seem 'ordinary' just like the rest of us although cleverer, more entrepreneurial and a lot more willing to take risks than most people.