Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way
, subject: Richard Branson autobiography covering Virgin Group, Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic, and Branson's entrepreneurial philosophy, 1998
Richard Branson tells his own first twenty years in order, covering his early entrepreneurial period in enough detail to reward a second reading.
About the book
David opens his three-part Branson series with this 1998 autobiography and rereads it thirteen years after his first pass. He treats it as the best starting point for Branson's early entrepreneurial period and highlights Branson's practice of protecting the downside while pursuing large upside.
Why read it
Best if You want Branson's own chronological account of his early entrepreneurial years, with the detail left in, rather than a highlight reel.
Key themes
- Branson's early years, told in order
- Detail worth a second reading
Evidence and original sources
Sources: official Founders episodes — #47, #48, #49
David notes he first read this book in 2005 and is rereading it almost 13 years later, discovering how much detail had faded from memory.
- Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way — David opens the episode by reading from Branson's autobiography and explicitly states the book's full title before proceeding through it chronologically.
- Finding My Virginity: The New Autobiography by Richard Branson — David identifies Losing My Virginity as the prior book and contrasts its account of Branson's first twenty years with Finding My Virginity.
- Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life by Richard Branson — David calls the episode's book a condensed version of Losing My Virginity and points listeners to the earlier autobiography.