...best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies. His first business venture was a magazine called Student at the age of 16. In 1970, he set up an audio record mail-order business. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores. Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways and expanded the Virgin Records music label. Richard Branson is the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom, according to the Forbes 2011 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of US$4.2 billion. Branson was born in Blackheath, London, the son and eldest child of barrister Edward James Branson (10 March 1918 – 19 March 2011) and Eve Huntley Branson .His grandfather, the Right Honorable Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson, was a judge of the High Court of Justice and a Privy Councillor.Branson was educated at Scaitcliffe School (now Bishopsgate School) until the age of thirteen. He then attended Stowe School until the age of sixteen. Branson has dyslexia and had poor academic performance as a student, but later discovered his ability to connect with others. Branson started his record business from the crypt of a church where he ran The Student. Branson advertised popular records in The Student Magazine and it was an overnight success. Trading under the name "Virgin", he sold records for considerably less than the "High Street" outlets, especially the chain W. H. Smith. The name "Virgin" was suggested...
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...It was during this time that Branson had the idea to begin a mail-order record company called Virgin to help fund his magazine efforts. The company performed modestly, but made Branson enough that he was able to expand his business venture, adding a record shop in Oxford Street, London. With the success of the record shop, the high school drop-out was able to build a recording studio in 1972 in Oxfordshire, England. His first artist on the Virgin Records label, Mike Oldfield, recorded his single "Tubular Bells" in 1973 with the help of Branson's team. The song was an instant smash, staying on the UK charts for 247 weeks. Using the momentum of Oldfield's success, Branson then signed other aspiring musical groups to label, including the Sex Pistols. Artists such as the Culture Club, the Rolling Stones, and Genesis would follow, helping to make Virgin Music one of the top six record companies in the world. Branson expanded his entrepreneurial efforts yet again, this time to include the travel company the Voyager Group in 1980, the airline Virgin Atlantic in 1984, and a series of Virgin Megastores. But Branson's success was not always predictable. By 1992, Virgin was suddenly struggling to stay financially afloat. The company was sold later that year to THORN EMI for $1...
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...ranson. The young entrepreneur’s guide to success according to SUCCESS STORY f there is one man who has defined entrepreneurial success for a generation of young and ambitious business hopefuls, it’s Sir Richard Branson. Posterboy for the anti-establishment and underdog turned benchmark-of-accomplishment, his sincere smile and candid approach to business are wonderfully alluring. He also evokes an every-man quality that says, “hey, if I can do this, you can too”, and since Foundr Magazine is founded on many of the values and driving forces that Branson is famous for, we thought he would be an absolute goldmine of advice for those of us who are starting out on our own entrepreneurial journeys. He’s also a bit of a rock star of the business world, so we were a little bit star-struck by his offer to answer some of our questions in an exclusive interview. I Does the world’s greatest mentor have a mentor of his own? S omething that many people define as critical to their success is identifying great mentors. For most of us, that means finding someone who can help you develop your business and leadership skills, or coach and guide you through specific challenges. And when you’re starting out, it might seem like there is the potential for mentoring from lots of the people you meet. But what about when you’re at the top of your game – is having a great mentor still important? Branson claims that it is, but when you’re already at the...
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...people from all areas of life and the art would reflect the diverse needs of the patrons. New motives emerged after iconoclasm spread throughout Europe in the new form of naturalistic style in still life, landscape and scenes of daily life. One example of this new motives is this painting “Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx“ which is common Northern Renaissance art and early Mannerist by being both naturalistic and inspired by the painter Bosch.The painting depicts a scene from greek mythology where Charon sails on the river Styx with the souls of the dead to either hell to the right or to heaven to the left (Landscape, n.d.)....
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...Miguel A. Lemus Eng. 160 Spring 1/27/14 Crossing the Other Side One Friday evening my mother lit some Virgin Mary glass candles and placed them across the counter of our kitchen. My little brother, Andres, stood there wondering why my mother placing candles around our home. “Mommy, why are you burning candles when it is not even Christmas yet?” Andres asked. We usually lit candles on Christmas or the day of our Virgin Mary birthday because is traditional to Mexican families. Without making the conversation complicated to Andres, who was seven at the time, my mother answered that my uncle Fernando is coming to the U.S. Of course Andres didn’t understand but he was happy anyway. I understood completely as I listened to both of them because my uncle does not have legal permission to come to the U.S. A few months have passed by and my family headed to St. Gall church on the south side of Chicago. We don’t attend church every Sunday regularly, but since the church recently have a new priest, we go often now. It is interesting because we use to have a priest –or as we like to call it father- named Alonso. With all due respect, Father Alonso was a great priest but his mass can make any person fall asleep within ten minutes. Now that we have a different priest, father Gary, he’s far more interesting because he’s passionate about the things he says to the people. Vice versa we love to listen to him that it seems like three...
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...PRICING FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME History The brand name "Virgin" arose when Branson and a partner were starting their first business, a record shop. They considered themselves virgins in business. The current Virgin logo was originally sketched on a paper napkin and remains largely unchanged since 1979 Background Differentiation is the key They focus on what they can do best Understanding and meeting customer needs Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson Branson is also known for his adventurous spirit and sporting achievements such as crossing oceans in a hotair-balloon Branson made several world record-breaking attempts “My ability to listen to other people and accept it when their suggestions are better than mine has been useful during my 40 years in business” Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson Richard Branson ,as an entrepreneur, is always on the lookout for new opportunities and ideas that will enable him to gain an advantage over his competitors. Dan schulman Dan schulman was appointed CEO in the summer of 2001 Schulman had 18 years of telecommunications experience with AT&T and was the CEO of priceline.com His goal was to achieve a run rate ;1 million subscribers by the end of the first year and 3 million by year four He established his team and Virgin branded service launched in 2002 Virgin Group Limited Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by Sir Richard...
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...in sports contributed to his confidence as a young entrepreneur (Branson, 2007). B. PROFESSIONAL HISTORY At the age of 16 Branson dropped out of the Stowe School to start a youth culture magazine called Student. Student was launched in 1966 as a, for students by students magazine. Branson made a list of the 50 top advertisers in the UK and one by one made phone calls selling the magazine’s advertising space. Richard ran the first edition of 50,000 copies for free, after he covered the cost of production with adverting revenues (Knappenberger, 2011). In 1969 Branson began his virgin empire with the launch of a mail order record service. By 1972 the mail order record service provided Branson with the capital to start his own recording studio in Oxfordshire. After a postal strike nearly killed his mail order record service in 1971, Branson took what little money he had left and in 1973 formed Virgin Records. Branson had trouble getting the record label started. One of Virgin’s first artists Mike Oldfield was nearly finished with the music business when Branson convinced him to perform a show in exchange for Branson’s car, a Bentley which he...
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...Luca Giordano's Birth of the Virgin Luca Giordano was one of the most prominent painters of his time in Italy. He lived from about 1632-1705 and composed work in his later life that was ahead of his time, and anticipated the later style of Rococo. Giordano's work "Birth of the Virgin" was one of his most revered works. Using oil on canvas, Giordano experimented with the use of light and layers of perspective in this work, showing two tiers of the biblical scene that are connected in some respects, yet separate in their actual realms, to evoke a powerful yet peaceful mood just after the birth of the Virgin Mary. The overall experience of seeing this work in person is captivating because of the multiple dimensions and complexity of the image. The scene of the painting is set just after the birth of the virgin Mary, and she is shown being cared for by a group of attendants, with her father looking on close by, and her mother resting off to the side. The lines in the painting contribute to its complexity in that there is a horizontal line organization that separates the top tier (the heavenly realm) from the bottom tier (the earthly realm) of the painting. This horizontal line shows a difference between the realms, but the two worlds are also connected by the lines in the painting, especially in an emotional sense. This effect is achieved by the dramatic diagonal coming down from the heavenly realm straight down the middle of the painting, crossing the horizontal and coming...
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...demonstrating idealized influence act as a role models, are admired, respected and trusted. They also consist the needs of others over their own, are consistent, share risks with others and conduct themselves ethically. Mr. Branson often went vacationing on his private Caribbean Island, called Necker. Along with him for his sojourn, he had brought 20 employees from various Virgin companies. And these were not senior executives, but the rank and file, a housekeeper, a switchboard operator, a reservations clerk and a pilot was invited because of excellent performance. This is a regular perk for Virgin employees, and Mr. Branson, rather than feeling intruded upon, delights in the company. “This ideas is to have fun, but by talking to employees, you learn a lot as well,” he says. Reminded that it is rare for CEO to take employees along on vacation. “I can assure you, it’s no sacrifice.” But it sends a powerful message and creates enviable loyalty in his growing workforce. In fact, Virgin, employee is as likely to say they “work for Richard” as for Virgin. Mr. Branson hosts summer party annually for all Virgin employees at his country home outside London. The party lasted seven days and more than 25,000 employees and family members attended. Nearly all were greeting at the door by Mr. Branson. He also attends as many orientation for new stand as possible in order to set the tone and send the message, “ he say: Get out there and have a good time. Really enjoy yourself, because...
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...The Concept of Brand Space Introduction Brand management faces an inconsistent challenge for executives who must wrestle a course between constancy and change; fostering the brand as it develops over time, and maintaining its up-date and carrying on its relevance, but safeguarding its core connotations. If branding is regarded as sharing significance of the intangible benefit of the company, brand managers therefore must select development opportunities to improve brand equity whereas expanding its meanings while preserving its ‘semiotic, cultural, and representative value’. Brand extensions answer this duty. Success of brand extensions was broadly attributed to the authenticity between the parent brand and the extension, authenticity that should maintain brand sets and mode, respect its heritage, save its spirit, and avoid brand misuse (Spiggle et al, 2012). In addition, because business environment is in perpetual change and converted into more global, local and even regional brands should face same evolution, thereof, the approach in managing brands should be more holistic, and the future of brands management should move toward a multidimensional view (Uggla, 2013). The failure in brands extension, the global environmental change, and the increasing markets competition and transformation were the main reasons that drive Berthon, Holbrocok, and Hulbert (2003) to expose some major mistakes committed by companies in managing their brands, and to develop a framework...
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...Matthew The Book of Matthew is of gospel genre. Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus. He does this to prove that Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, coming from the line of David, being born of a virgin, and being born in Bethlehem. I could only imagine the birth of Jesus as something extra special. That night after Mary gave birth to Jesus they were visited by some special people. The Magi visited King Herod looking for the new born king in Bethlehem. After their visit Herod was concerned. He ordered the killing of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of two. Joseph, Mary and Jesus escape Herod and fled to Egypt. We know little to nothing of Jesus in his early years. Later after returning to Nazareth, Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist. This marks the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. Some of the other major events we find in Matthew is when he goes on to pick his twelve disciples and begins to preach on the “Kingdom of Heaven”. We learn that Jesus came to fulfill the Law. During his ministry he performs miracles, he teaches, and preaches the word. At the end of the book we learn of Jesus’s arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, burial, and his resurrection. Acts The Book of Acts is of narrative genre. The Major themes of Acts provides a detailed, orderly, eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There was a growing opposition to the new Church...
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...struck me most 13 Introduction 13 Richard Branson 13 Tony Hsieh 13 Compare and Contrast 14 Introduction 14 Richard Branson 14 Tony Hsieh 15 Executive Summary This paper aims to present and discuss both Richard Branson and Tony Hsieh on their business ventures, characteristics, and endeavours both inside and outside the business world, it will focus mainly on their successes and the trials and tribulations that came with it; including my own personal reflection and juxtaposition of myself and both Richard Branson and Tony Hsieh. Richard Branson was born on July 18, 1950 in Surrey England, all throughout his childhood he struggled in school dropped out at the age of 16. This decision ultimately led to the creation of Virgin records. His entrepreneurial ventures and...
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...nations took over the concept. Most historians are sure that The Bible stories about Christ`s life, death and resurrection are renewed version of Egyptian myth. Osiris, among all Gods, was more familiar and understandable for the nation: as a man and God, virtuous and suffered without any guilt and then awarded with eternity, in one time. U.Budge said:” The main reason why the Osiris cult existed was promise of timeless life for his followers.” Even after acceptance of Christianity Egyptians continued to mummify deceased people and combine attributes of their God and “Gods” with Jesus Crist`s ceremonies for a long time. They perceive Jesus as a prototype of Osiris, so Egyptians’` were the most prepared minds for Christ`s doctrine. THE VIRGIN MARY`s CULT One of the most famous Egyptologist academician Korostowtsev said:” Egyptian religious views penetrated into Christian religion of countries, subordinated to Rome. They were Britain, Gaul and...
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...love story about a loving, young couple that’s trapped on both their sides of the furious river. The girl, Alice, is willing to do anything to be with her beloved Cecil. But are love for another person strong enough to justify the fact, that she have slept with another man, Sinbad, in order to cross the river? Well, that depends on the point of view. First, looking at the fact that she’s engaged to Cecil makes it morally wrong to sleep with another person. Especially if the relationship is healthy, which, by looking at the first couple of phrases, we must conclude it is. And moreover also thinking about the fact that Alice is still virgin. Secondly, even though it seemed like the easiest and fastest way to cross the river, their relationship will be harmed for life. The trust will forever be broken. She puts her own needs of quickly crossing the river in front of the fact that she’s saving herself for Cecil. Thirdly, she let the strong woodsman stomp off toward the house, to beat the crap out of Cecil, which, in my opinion, indicates that she now blame Cecil for their break up. On the other hand however, you could say that she loves Cecil so much, that she’s willing to do anything, even sacrifice her virginity, in order to be with the man she loves. This statement might, in some way, justify what she did. But in conclusion, Alice is definitely, no matter how you look at it, blinded by the love. She has been growing up in a protected teenage-world, with no problems...
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...Lex Cornia LI 532 Final Paper March 15, 2008 East of Eden: The Discovery of Innocence on the Western Frontier The western clouds divided and subdivided themselves into pink flakes modulated with tints of such unspeakable softness that it was a pain to come within the doors of civilization… How does Nature deify us with a few and cheap elements! Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature The West captivates people. The West both as a direction of navigation and as an idea occupies a magical realm where boundaries become blurred and what is light becomes twilight and dark. Just as the East represents the arrival of sun with its light and rationality—of darkness dispelled— so too does the West embody the loss of that sun’s light and logic and the commencement of night. However, there are more boundaries between East and West than merely the presence or absence of light. After the time of Columbus, the people who looked toward the West, and particularly the North American continent, saw more than just land. The West was a sacred place where magic, hallowed, and even treacherous experiences were possible. This idea that possibilities existed in the West that did not exist elsewhere motivated millions to leave the Old World for the new and redefine themselves in a Western landscape of unlimited possibilities. What is the West? These early settlers, religionists, and explorers to the West came to the shores of the Atlantic seaboard unsure of what to expect from the new...
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