British entrepreneur and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson has shared a candid memory from his early business days, revealing the playful strategies he used to gain credibility in the media world.
Reflecting on the launch of Student magazine, his first business venture, Branson admitted that he and his small team didn’t have money, fame, or powerful contacts at the time.
But they did have what he calls “a willingness to take risks.”
“We needed people to take us seriously, and we needed some attention,” Branson recalled. “So I thought, ‘If the real movers and shakers aren’t calling us yet, let’s act like they are.’”
He described how, whenever journalists visited their tiny office, which he humorously compared to “a glorified broom cupboard”, his friend Tony would ring the phone repeatedly, pretending to be notable figures.
“It’s Ted Heath for you, Richard!”
“David Bailey says it’s urgent!”
“Mick Jagger’s on line two!”
Branson would respond calmly and confidently, telling Tony to take a message because he was “in a meeting.”
“Of course, none of them were really on the line,” he admitted. “It was just Tony, sitting on the floor, playing switchboard with a cheeky grin.”
The stunt worked.
Visiting reporters scribbled notes furiously, assuming Branson was already well connected in elite circles.
“They only see what is not what could be,” Branson explained. “So sometimes, you need to help them imagine it.”
He was quick to clarify that the tactic was not rooted in malice, but in ambition.
“I was not fibbing to be malicious. I was bluffing to buy us a seat at the table. And sometimes, the bluff worked.”
Eventually, the very figures they pretended to speak to did start calling.
“Mick Jagger did eventually call. He even signed the Rolling Stones to us. So did Bailey,” Branson said. “We had faked it but thankfully, by the time anyone caught on, we had already made it.”
Branson’s story underscores the lengths some entrepreneurs go to be taken seriously and the fine line between audacity and authenticity in the world of startups.