Like a Virgin? - August 25th
Meeting Agenda:
Start of school/administrative stuff
Badgerloop
Construction Club
Train Summer T Shirts
Racine Visit
Headlines:
China has 36,000 km of High-Speed Railways by July
ChinaDaily
China targets big expansion of high-speed rail network
Argus
China Doesn't Need 125,000 Miles of Track
Bloomberg Opinion
High-Speed Rail Heats Up in California as Brightline Eyes Las Vegas Route Extensions
Forbes
Elon Musk's mysterious desert tunnel: A superfast LA-Vegas link?
SFGate
Michigan to build first-in-nation AV corridor from Detroit to Ann Arbor
Smart Cities Dive
High Speed Rail Became a Boondoogle When Politicians Changed It To Slow Speed Rail
CAL Matters
Richard Branson's Travel Empire is Crumbling. Only Space and Hyperloop Can Save it
Observer
Questionable News:
NJ MMA News
Commentary:
Like a Virgin - How did the founder of a student magazine become the train, airline, Hyperloop, and space mogul we hear about today
There is something about transportation and empire building. Frequently we hear about Elon Musk (Tesla/Space X), Jeff Bezos (Prime Air, Drones), and even Donald Trump (Trump Shuttle [Airline]) attempting to add to transportation to the empires. There is something that attracts these individuals to start up their ventures and then move into transportation.
Some are extremely successful (thinking Space X here), and some fail miserably (Trump Shuttle), but there is one entrepreneur who is not a household name in the US, but his company is. In fact, what once started out as a simple student magazine in the 1960s turned into one of the largest global conglomerates in the world. Such companies that we are talking about include:
Virgin USA (airline)
and of course...Virgin Hyperloop.
However, is this Virgin empire crumbling? That is a question that is being asked as Virgin Atlantic Airways goes into bankruptcy in England (called receivership) early next month. However, if there is one thing Richard Branson is known for....it is being the true entrepreneur. He will take a failure and turn into a unrivaled success. So this is going to be interesting to watch, as well as another interesting chapter of Richard Branson's "Losing My Virginity".
Virgin America Safety Video #VXsafetydance
Is it the end of the Road for Virgin Atlantic?
Richard Branson, Building the Virgin Empire
Richard Branson Success Story | Virgin Group Founder Biography | Virgin Records | Startup Stories