← Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
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- [00:04]
A
I began to realize that the only place that sold music was these horrible sort of news agents. He had no idea how to start a record company. I went to seven record companies. They all said no. Sir Richard Branson.
- [00:18]
B
Today we get to hear from one of the most iconic leaders of our time, Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, airline cruises, hotels, health, entertainment, space. I can go on. And he does all of this with endless sense of adventure and fun. Fun.
- [00:32]
A
If I wasn't dyslexic, I wouldn't have created what I've created.
- [00:36]
B
When do you feel you needed to access this reserve tank.
- [00:42]
A
After that horrible moment where you really feel bad? I think the important thing to remember in those moments when you're down is that by and large, most things, you know, pale into insignificance when you wake up and see the sun coming up.
- [01:12]
B
Today we get to hear from one of the most iconic leaders of our time. He has been a personal role model for me for years. Sir Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Group airline cruises, hotels, health, entertainment, space. I can go on. His focus on impact is incredibly inspiring, as you're going to hear, and he does all of this with endless sense of adventure and fun. Absolutely no clue how you do this all, Richard, but take us back in time to your school days. What was school like for you, Richard?
- [01:44]
A
Well, British kids, quite a few of us, were sent away to school when we were seven and a half. It's sort of a very antiquated British system, I suspect, left over from the colonial days when parents were overseas and they sent their kids to boarding school. I remember the first night throwing up in my bed away from home for the first time and the matron coming in and instead of helping me clean it up, made me redo my bed and clean it all up. And that was the sort of taste of what was to come in an English boarding school in those days, but somehow survived. I was dyslexic, which certainly didn't help. So conventional schooling I was not good at and conventional learning, but I had a massive curiosity for what was going on in the world and for life generally. And in the end, I started a magazine for young people and the headmaster said, you can either run the magazine and leave school or you can not run the magazine and stay at school. And it made it very easy for me. So, age 15, I quit school and went out into the real world.
- [02:56]
B
So, Richard, I have to go there. So first of all, as a dyslectic kid, to start a magazine, it almost sounds Impossible. And then what did you parents say? Like, if my kid will leave school right now, she's 15, I would freak out. How would everybody react to this?
- [03:14]
A
Dealing with the second part of the question. First I walked my father around the garden three or four times. First time I told him I was leaving school. The second time around the garden, he gave me all the reasons why I shouldn't leave school. Third time around the garden, I argued my case fairly forcibly. And the fourth time around the garden, he said, look, you know what you want to do at 15. I didn't know what I wanted to do at 22. Good on you for giving it a go. And if it doesn't succeed, if the magazine doesn't succeed, then I'll do my best to get you an education again. And I gave him a big hug and a kiss and ran off weeping for joy. I was out of school. How can a dyslexic run a magazine? Now, that is a really good question. I think that being dyslexic, I had to find great people to surround myself with. I had to inspire them on the idea. And the idea of the magazine was to reform a very antiquated education system, but also to campaign against the Vietnamese War and the Biafran War. And kids supported that idea and, you know, were willing to come and work with us for a mission. And we got some wonderful people, Max Handley, Jonathan Holland, Gems. Wonderful people around me. So I could do the interviews. I could go off and interview James Baldwin and Jean Paul Sartre and Vanessa Redgrave and get the interviews done. And they could then turn those interviews into eloquent prose for the magazine. And it somehow worked really well.
- [04:53]
B
Incredible. And then you also then start of Virgin Records, which is an industry that usually needs massive connections to get started. It almost like you're not afraid of anything. How did that come about?
- [05:05]
A
So the magazine was the powerhouse. We started selling nearly 100,000 copies an issue of the magazine. Young people all over the country, I mean, university students, even more than school students, were buying it. And we arranged massive demonstrations against the Vietnamese War. That was one war that Britain wasn't involved in. It was meant primarily America and Australia to an extent. So big marches on the American Embassy. I hate to say it, because we felt it was a really, really unjust war. Most wars are, but that war was palpably unjust. And I began to realize that the only place that sold music was these horrible sort of news agents. Horrible from a music point of view. W.H. smiths and Menge and so we thought, let's create a hip way where people can buy their music and let's sell it cheaper than these stores are selling it at. And so we started, first of all, a little mail order company from the magazine. And we would sell Frank Zapper and Captain Beefheart and not Andy Williams. You know, we put our taste in music into the adverts, and young people flocked and bought their music by post from us. And we would stand outside concert halls handing out leaflets. And a young man came along with a tape and said, richard, he was only 15 himself. Would you consider putting this out? And I said, well, we don't have a record company. So I went to seven record companies and tried to get them to put his music out. They all said no. So I thought, screw it, let's do it. We'll start a record company. I had no idea how to start a record company, but I borrowed a recording contract from a friend called Sandy Denny, who had a recording career with Island Records. We typed up her recording contract, we crossed out her name, we put Mike Oldfield's name instead. And Mike Oldfield had his first contract and we had our first artist. Then we set about working out how to distribute the records. And John Peale, who was the most influential disc jockey in England from Radio 1, I invited him over to my houseboat and I played him Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells. And he sat there entranced for 45 minutes, and it was just deathly hush when the album finished. And he said, richard, I've never done this before, but I'm going to play the whole album on my show tonight. And he played the whole album and Tubular Bells went to number one and it became the biggest selling album. Knocked Dark side of the Moon from Pink Floyd into number two place, and Virgin Records was born and Mike Oldfield became a sensational hit artist. Some people, you know, sadly, in some ways, the Exorcist picked up on bits of its music. And so a lot of people associate it with the film the Exorcist, but people should just listen to this beautiful, haunting music. And then his third album, Omidawn, is gorgeous as well. But anyway, that was the start of our record company. And we went on, you know, I think, because we were willing to take risks. We signed the Sex Pistols, Boy George, Culture Club, Human League, xcc, a lot of very credible bands, Peter Gabriel, Genesis. Then we attracted the Janet Jacksons and the Rolling Stones and David Bowie and a lot of formidable artists who then came and signed with us as well and became the Biggest independent record label in the world and Lenny Kravitz in America and so on. So it was a very exciting time.
- [08:46]
B
It sounds incredible, but the screw it, let's do it theme has continued also to airlines, right? And you just one day decide to start an airline, which is really crazy. Richard, can you share that for a second?
- [09:02]
A
Literally, I was in Puerto Rico sitting on an American Airlines plane trying to get to the Virgin Islands, and the pilot came on the speaker and said, very sorry, the pilots that be have said there are not enough passengers on board. Can you all come back at 7:00 in the morning? Now, I had a gorgeous girl who I just met called Joan waiting in the British Virgin Islands, and I'd been away for three weeks and I was determined to see her that night. So I went to the back of the airport and I hoped my credit card wouldn't bounce. I was only 28 years old. I gave them the credit card, hired a plane, borrowed a blackboard, and as a joke, I wrote Virgin airlines one way, $39 to the BVI and went out to all the people who got bumped. And I sold out my first plane. So then the next day, having got to the BVI that night, I won't go into the details about that night. Next day I rang Boeing and said, my name is Richard Branson. Do you have any secondhand 747s for sale? And the head salesman for Boeing said, what did you call the airline? And I said, virgin Airlines. He said, well, look, as long as you don't call it Virgin, if you're going to get to take a plane office, I'll come and see you. Because if you call it Virgin, nobody would ever book an airline called Virgin because they would assume that you wouldn't go the whole way. So he came by, we got our first 747. That was 40 years ago this year. And Virgin Atlantic was born and has been through lots of turbulence, but unbelievably is still alive and going strong despite 911 and the 2007, 2008 crash and the COVID And it's had everything thrown at it, but we've got the most wonderful team of people who work for it and people seem to love to fly it and it's been a big success story.
- [11:01]
B
I know, and I can probably talk to you for hours about it, but I want to talk impact for a second because this is such a crazy story. When I visited Necker, which is your private island in Ulusaba, your magical place in South Africa, you mentioned a type of impact I never thought or never heard of. And basically your impact is that you are able to call almost anyone in the world or anyone in the world. And one of the crazy stories that you told is reaching out to Saddam Hussein, which you also share in your audiobook. Can you share that story? It's a crazy story.
- [11:39]
A
I think that entrepreneurs, if you're an entrepreneur creating businesses, you can be an entrepreneur trying to solve some of the problems of the world. And I suspect most of us should be, especially as we get to a stage in our lives where we've got global reach. And so on this occasion, we saw Saddam Hussein had taken some hostages as a bargaining chip. And there were kids there and there were elderly and some hostages that were very ill. And I knew the King of Jordan. I went to see him in Jordan, and he wrote a letter to Saddam that I drafted, and he translated it. And basically it said we'd be willing to fly in with one of our 747s full of medical supplies for his country if we could fly out with the hostages. And he agreed. And three days later, we flew into this very dark airport of Baghdad. We were the first plane to land there in three years. The last plane was a British Airways plane that was blown up at the end of the Runway. So it was a dark and interesting night. And we met Saddam at the airport, and we swapped hostages for medical supplies. And then fast forward to the second Gulf War, just as it was coming close to happening. I was against the second Gulf War. I think George Bush Senior was absolutely right in not going into Baghdad. And there was no good excuse for the second Gulf War. There was no reason for it. And it was nothing to do with 9, 11. That was Saudis, not Iraqis. And so I thought maybe we could try to persuade Saddam Hussein to step down from Iraq, which would take the excuse of the war away from the allied forces. So I went and saw the King of Jordan again, and he again contacted Saddam Hussein. And we got word back that he would be willing to leave and go and live in Libya for the rest of his life with his family if we could find an elder or two to fly out with him of the stature of somebody like Nelson Mandela, so he could fly out with his head held high. And so I then contacted Mandela. I didn't know very well, but he agreed to go. But he also wanted Kofi Annan, who was Secretary General of the United nations, to come with him. Contacted Kofi Annan again. I didn't know him at that time, but after about a few days, managed to talk to him directly and he agreed to go with Mandela. And we got a plane to South Africa. The flight was about to take place, and very sadly, the bombing started and it never happened. But what it did teach us was if an elder or two could stop a war, then maybe we should form a group of elders to try to stop future conflicts. And so Mandela agreed to be the founding elder of the elders. Ko Phi Annan agreed to join. Archbishop Tutu joined. Mary Robinson. Ban Ki Moon subsequently joined. And anyway, wonderful group of 12 men and women, and they've done wonderful work since forming and have stopped some conflicts and are still working very, very hard, obviously, on things like Israel, Palestine and other conflicts that are going on around the world, like the Congo. So it was an interesting time.
- [15:09]
B
And for everybody listening, you listening to me now, pause for a second and download this Audible audiobook, losing and Finding My Virginity. I promise it will give you a different perspective to business, to life, to. It's incredible. And, Richard, in your brilliant audiobook, you have an amazing quote that actually I use it a lot, and it basically says something like, in the dark moments, we all need to pick ourselves up and keep going. Developing mental toughness isn't just about being resilient. It's about accessing your reserve tanks when you just can't go any further, which is so inspiring and true for me. When do you feel you needed to access this reserve tank?
- [15:54]
A
We have this bike ride on the island next to us on Necker. It's actually steeper than a Tour de France ride.
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B
So it's a nightmare. It's a nightmare. It's insane, Richard. It's insane. Absolutely not allowed. Yes.
- [16:13]
A
And people get into hysterics just like that. Well, what I tell people just before they go is your brain will tell you as you're halfway up the hill, enough. Absolutely enough. I'm not going to go any further. At the same time that your body is definitely capable of going further. So don't listen to the brain. Look at the floor 10ft ahead. Don't look up, because if you look up, you're going to see this steep hill ahead of you. It'll look pretty flat if you look just 10ft ahead and keep plowing on. And I think that's a pretty good metaphor for life as well. We're all going to have moments where we're down. I think the important thing to remember on those moments when you're down is that two or three days after that horrible moment where you really feel bad that you'll wonder why you were having a sleepless night three or four nights earlier. Was it really worth a sleepless night over? And by and large, most things pale into insignificance when you wake up and see the sun coming up and what a beautiful world we live in. And so I think we've all got to be as positive as possible. I think I'm at an age where being fit is really important, and I enjoy getting fit. I mean, I love playing tennis early in the mornings and I love playing tennis in the evenings. I love going kiting, I love riding bikes. If I go to the gym, I'll go with somebody who's fun and will crack dirty jokes for half an hour. And it's certainly worthwhile trying to keep oneself in shape, if one can. Life's the fun for it.
- [17:43]
B
I know. And I would crack some jokes about you making me swim for four and a half kilometers. But how has dyslexia created the person that you are today? And what do you want others to know about through dyslexic you that you just launched, like, what do you want people to know?
- [17:59]
A
I'm a dyslexic thinker and I'm proud of being dyslexic. And I think that dyslexic kids, parents out there who've got dyslexic kids, should not fret and worry about it, because I think being dyslexic, we think differently to an extent than some other people. I think dyslexic people are often more imaginative. And what you need to do is let dyslexic kids flourish at the things they're good at, the other things they'll catch up on. And with AI, you could argue they don't even need to catch up on some of these things. They can just tap onto AI later on in life to find the things that they've missed out on. I think if I wasn't dyslexic, I wouldn't be sitting here today and I wouldn't have created what I've created. So I'm very thankful for it and for all those who are not dyslexic, we'll find a good psychiatrist to send you to compensate for the fact that you're not dyslexic.
- [18:54]
B
For sure. And for all of you not dyslexic, you still have hope, that's what you're saying.
- [19:00]
A
We'll help you. We'll sort you out.
- [19:02]
B
Don't worry. Richard, seriously, being around somebody like you that inspires so much good in the world but also inspires everybody to think bigger and higher and aim for bigger things in life has been incredible. So all I would say is thank you for everything that you're doing and for sharing it with people like me and all my listeners and I'll just say to everybody else, seriously, pause for a second, download the audiobook because it will change your perspective. Richard, anything less that you want to share with us?
- [19:40]
A
I just want to say that I've been had the privilege of getting to know Ilana because she's come to NECA on a few occasions. Her smile is infectious and she's just a delight to be around and her podcasts are great and looking forward to your next one anyway and look forward to seeing you again soon and you're also very adventurous. I hear you just signed up to the next Drive challenge so that's pretty full on.
- [20:04]
B
Thank you for everything.
- [20:06]
A
Lovely to talk to you. Cheers.