Virgin Atlantic founder Richard Branson believes that business is not just about making money—it’s also about doing good in the world.
“Most businesses have a purpose in themselves,” Branson said during “Business Is an Adventure,” a panel discussion sponsored by, Virgin atlantic, General Assembly, and WeWork. “But if you’ve got a choice of a business to make money for a country run by a wicked dictator, or a business to make money in Ghana not run by a wicked dictator, choose Ghana. If you’re going to spend your time running your life, try to make sure you’re really proud of what you’re doing.”
Joining Branson on stage at the event on February 18 in Downtown Los Angeles were several other business trailblazers: Miguel McKelvey of WeWork, Sean Rad of Tinder, and Cassey Ho of Blogilates.
Here are three key takeaways from Branson about how to view businesses and ideas.
1. “Business is not about dollars and cents.” Branson says it’s about creating something that’s going to make a positive difference in people’s lives. The best part, he says, is creating something you can be proud of.
2. “If you have a good idea, you’ll always find someone to fund you.” He advises entrepreneurs to tell their story on the Internet. There, they can find people who love the idea and connect them with others willing to invest in it.
3. “If you have an idea, you shouldn’t just think of your own country. Think of the world as one country.” He says it gives you freedom to enter each market and make your product your own unique thing. Instead of universally licensing the product in each country, when you go there yourself, you’ll find you have a better profit margin.
As for the future, Branson says he envisions more companies investing in projects that make a positive impact on people around the globe.
“In Africa, there are 600 million people who don’t have any clean energy,” Branson says. “Companies are starting to emerge and need to start giving them clean energy.”
Photo: Virgin Atlantic