Since Richard Branson started his first business in 1966, it's safe to say the mogul has launched close to 100 companies (if not more) under his Virgin brand. Virgin has plastered its name on everything from airlines to wine clubs to underwear.
It's not surprising that he would have a few failures under his belt. And given the over-the-top way that Richard Branson does business, it's also not surprising that some of them are pretty spectacular.
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In fact, Branson has lost count of the number of times he has been told that one of his ventures was a goner. Many times he would try to save the business by coming at the problem from a different angle, he wrote in an American Express Open Forum blog post, but some ideas can't be saved.
It is those times, Branson has said, recognizing mistakes and recovering are essential skills for an entrepreneur:
My mother drummed into me from an early age that I should not spend much time regretting the past. I try to bring that discipline to my business career. Over the years, my team and I have not let mistakes, failures or mishaps get us down. Instead, even when a venture has failed, we try to look for opportunities, to see whether we can capitalize on another gap in the market.
After all, “Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming,” says Branson.
Student magazine: Branson dropped out of school at 16 to start a magazine called Student.
"There wasn't a national magazine run by students, for students. I didn't like the way I was being taught at school. I didn't like what was going on in the world, and I wanted to put it right," he told Business 2.0 Magazine.
The magazine didn't run as well as he hoped, so he started a record mail-order business that he advertised in the magazine. The mail-order business proved so popular that he ditched the magazine and opened his own record shop. He called it Virgin.
Virgin Cola: In a major brand extension, Branson launched Virgin Cola in 1994.
Virgin Cola was the most highly publicized of Virgin's failed businesses, and also Branson's favorite failure. "I got to drive a tank into Times Square and also to create a cheeky bottle in the shape of Pamela Anderson," he wrote in a blog post.
"That business taught me not to underestimate the power of the world's leading soft drink makers. I'll never again make the mistake of thinking that all large, dominant companies are sleepy!"
Virgin Vodka: The cola was part of Virgin Drinks (also launched in 1994), which included Virgin Vodka.
Like Virgin Cola, Virgin Vodka had little commercial success. The same goes for the other drink products produced by Virgin -- Virgin Vines, Virgin Energy Shot, and Virgin Ooze (a fizzy alcoholic drink).
One blogger suggested the products couldn't hack it because they brought no added value to the table: "Whereas Virgin Atlantic had such unique features as on-board massages and free ice cream going for it, Virgin Vodka could not stand up to its competition."
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