BalanceJulyIssue17 - 26

T

he prospect of meeting Richard Branson
leaves me with something of a conundrum,
as it must anyone lucky enough to steal
some of his time. Even though I have no
unique business proposition to offer, I
still feel compelled to pitch something
to him, anything, rather than miss this
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Alas, after
racking my brain for the entire night, my
notebook remains empty the next day.

Still I figure, he's probably relieved not to have
another hair-brain idea thrown his way? Not so.
'I'll never tire of meeting those people who
are looking to disrupt the norm, to improve
people's lives and change the world for the better,'
he says. 'I approach each of these situations with
a great sense of optimism and always try to add
some positive feedback, whether that's through
encouragement, advice or even investment. I'm
an entrepreneur first, so am always interested to
hear new ideas, whether being pitched to me on a
plane, on a bike or over a meal.'
So when my lightbulb moment does eventually
occur, I ask, what should I do?
'My advice to any entrepreneur who is pitching
their business idea is to keep it clear, show
your strengths and explain what's in it for your
potential partners.'

FAMILY GUY
Indeed, Richard's latest venture, Virgin Sport,
began life when his son-in-law, Freddie, presented
the proposal to him a few years ago.
'I was just off the back of the Cape Argus
marathon, a gruelling 120km bike ride across Cape
Town's mountains, when he came up with the

26

BALANCE July 2017



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BalanceJulyIssue17

BalanceJulyIssue17 - 1
BalanceJulyIssue17 - 2
BalanceJulyIssue17 - 3
BalanceJulyIssue17 - 4
BalanceJulyIssue17 - 5
BalanceJulyIssue17 - 6
BalanceJulyIssue17 - 7
BalanceJulyIssue17 - 8
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BalanceJulyIssue17 - 21
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BalanceJulyIssue17 - 26
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