Virgin StartUp ambassadors: branding with Richard Branson
Our Virgin StartUp ambassadors are our super-fans. They’ll help get the word out about what we do, making sure the mission of Virgin StartUp spreads far and wide across England and Scotland. To kick things off, we invited them to a very special Virgin StartUp masterclass on branding at the Branson family home.
Some of our ambassadors have only started trading in the last few months, whilst some were amongst our first ever loan recipients. But whatever your business stage, getting back to basics and thinking about what’s at the core of your brand is a vital exercise. This masterclass was an opportunity for our ambassadors to sit down, reflect on their journey so far, and to bounce ideas off other motivated startup founders.
It was an opportunity for something else too. We were thrilled to have Richard himself pop in for a talk with our entrepreneurs, and share his wisdom about building a brilliant brand. Virgin is one of the most well-known brands globally, a brand that’s always punched above its weight and done things differently, and a brand that’s kept its core values consistent whilst always innovating and evolving.
Here are some of Richard’s tips for our startups.
“I didn't start off as the face of Virgin. But when we started Virgin Atlantic and were up against British Airways, my mentor Freddie Laker advised me to get the brand out there any way we could.”
“Have the courage to try and try again until your business succeeds.”
“Entrepreneurial people are the best equipped people to solve problems.”
“PR has played a big role in elevating our brand. PR is free: come up with stories about what you're doing, and go to the press.”
"It’s important to pick a good name that works globally. Virgin was almost Slipped Disc Records, but then someone suggested we call it Virgin, because we were virgins when it came to business – and it stuck!”
Thank you to our ambassadors for making their way down for a brilliant day – here’s to many more exciting things coming from our ambassadors.
All images by Owen Billcliffe
