[xedarius]

"Richard Branson started Virgin Air by putting up a sign when his plane was cancelled, selling tickets. He used the money raised from the tickets to rent an airplane. You can start an airline like that also."

And selling his empire of retail stores, he got a few pieces of silver from that too.

[sixhobbits]

My thoughts exactly. I recently read Branson's own account of this event, and no - he did not raise money from the tickets. You cannot start an airline on the money raised from <100 tickets. He didn't actually make any profit from the event at all - he simply organised a private jet for him and the other stranded businessmen and got them to split the cost. Which supposedly led to him starting Virgin Air, but still a huge misrepresentation.