Quote: DaveO "Hang on, Branson is not someone who raised himself up from rags to riches as the above implies. He had the backing of a very wealthy family from a very early age.
His father was barrister, his grandfather a high court judge and privvy councillor and when Richard Branson wanted to start a business breeding budgies his Dad built him a huge aviary and when he opened his first record shop who do you think bankrolled that?
It's very easy to take risks and get back on the horse if your attempts at business fail if in reality there aren't any risks because you have a wealthy family to fall back on as Branson did.
......a wealthy family..... Without his families money I doubt we would have heard of Richard Branson.'"
Well indeed, I've read his biog too although he does like to give the impression that his first record shop venture in London was a seat-of-the-pants affair with some uni mates and a total lack of planning & organisation - and to be fair to him when the shoite eventually hit the fan he didn't get any family bail out money, he went bust.
Its not always the case either that "family money" is always available to assist your sprogs gently off on their path of entrepreneurship, I would be considered wealthy by those who have fewer assets than mine but I have not one single shiny penny to invest in my childrens future, they have stood on their own two feet since they were old enough to work and are far better people for the effort of doing so - same goes for many who have "family money" tied up in assets, its not always available for them to spend as they wish and often there is great family opposition to the sort of risk taking with their money that the likes of a breeding budgie business would involve, it not always a case of "Excuse me pater, could I trouble you for the odd half mill to get this little venture with my chums off the ground?"