I have mentioned Richard Branson's autobiography in this blog and in The Human Fabric Blog.

In the Prologue, Sir Richard says: "If there is a theme in this book, it is about survival. Most people who start from scratch don't survive..."

Truly, this defines him as a quintessential bootstrapper! The VoD is THE defining time in every Bootstrap venture - it's the time when the venture is fighting for its life and survival is the key focus. I often say that, "In the Valley of Death, lies the salvation of the bootstrapper." And the Evangelist is the key driving force in the Valley of Death. Indeed, we see how this works in the evolution of Virgin. Barely coming out of one Valley of Death, the company is pushed into another. But each succeeding challenge results in the discovery of a new business.

His first venture was Student, a magazine for school-going teenagers. He started the magazine with a $4 (Pound, actually) loan from his Mom. To get it going, he practiced the Bootstrapper's art of selling before the product was even made! It took a year before they sold a single advertisement - the power of persistence! It was during this time that Sir Richard discovered the Power of 2 and his natural roles as the Evangelist, counterbalanced with a Maven partner.

It was through Student that Sir Richard discovered Virgin's next business - mail order music. Students were willing to spend money on music and he saw it as a great opportunity. Virgin Mail Order Records was born. Again, he discovers the beauty of receiving payment first before having to deliver the goods! (Michael Dell, another great Bootstrapper, discovered this when selling computers out of his dorm room).

A postal worker's strike in 1971 almost put Virgin Mail Order Records out of business. This prompted Sir Richard and Nik, his partner, to start a record shop. Thus, Virgin got into the retail business. This was soon followed by Virgin Records when he recognized that the real money in music was not to be made in retail, but in recording. The story continues with Virgin's many subsequent lines of business to their current extremely diversified portfolio.

Perhaps Sir Richards' defining bootstrapper characteristic is his ability to roll with the punches and keep turning every crisis into the next business venture. Indeed, this is the very "salvation" that comes from the VoD - it causes the bootstrapper to innovate!