If £12,000 is enough to launch a town, it’s enough to launch a business

If £12,000 is enough to launch a town, it’s enough to launch a business

You may have heard Virgin is moving headquarters to Branson, Missouri, a town founded by Sir Richard Branson’s great-great uncle - Reuben S. Branson.

After looking into the family tree it was discovered that Reuben Branson created the town with an investment of $587 in 1912. While a relative fortune at the time it works out to be £12,000 by today’s standards. An amount you can get with a Virgin StartUp Loan and the same amount of funding we gave out to Juan Garcia Alvarez to launch his premium nut business, Carpe Nux; or to Simon Laing to start his kayak and bike tour company, Cullercoats Bike & Kayak.

Sir Branson started the Virgin empire with just £300, so we shouldn’t have been too surprised. Clearly entrepreneurialism has been in the blood for generations! It’s the perfect piece in the puzzle that makes Branson such a fitting home for Virgin. From one humble starting up fund to another; from a bustling town to a globally-recognised brand.

If such a relatively small sum can give rise to a place that is a home for so many, a place to be proud of and a city on the map, what else could you do with just a little starting up money?

We leave that up to you. Start up with us today.