Uber and Airbnb may just be in for a little extra competition from an unlikely source: brash Virgin founder Richard Branson.
Branson, the British business mogul with the wild mane who founded the trendy Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America airlines, told Mashable in an interview this week that he believes his team should be competing with these fast-growing startups, which are changing how people get around and where they stay.
“I quite often say to our team, ‘We should be competing with Airbnb. We should be competing with Uber. We’ve got the brand,’" Branson said. "Maybe one day we’ll set up an alternative.”
Branson, a staunch defender of technology disruptors, has closely followed the ride-hailing market in particular, making an early investment in Uber as well as investments in Hailo and Sidecar.
Virgin America also partnered with Airbnb for a lodging giveaway tied to its new flight path between San Francisco and Oahu, Hawaii, which kicked off this week.
Whether the serial entrepreneur, who has found success with the music and travel industries, actually pursues a true competitor to Uber or Airbnb, both of which are now very well established in competitive markets, or simply pursues more partnerships with these services is anyone's guess. But Branson is nothing if not ceaselessly ambitious.
As it turns out, the sense of admiration -- and potential competition -- goes both ways.