Seek out strategic alliances; they are essential to growth and provide resistance to bigger competition.

Please don’t get hung up on this question of whether you need to have experience in an industry before you launch your startup.

Seek out strategic alliances; they are essential to growth and provide resistance to bigger competition.

Good people have always been at the heart of the Virgin business, and that's largely because we have tried to keep our business small, and our management teams tight-knit. I feel that small, compact companies, are better run. That is partly because people feel more connected in small companies.

In a sense, when we started Virgin Atlantic, I was trying to create an airline for myself. If you try to build the perfect airline for yourself, it will be appreciated by others.

Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad.

Communicate your passion clearly, concisely and with genuine conviction.