Jack Delosa of Entourage shares advice learned from Richard Branson on Necker Island
A university dropout who owed $20,000 before becoming a millionaire at age 26 has shared what he learned from billionaire Sir Richard Branson.
Sydney entrepreneur and investor Jack Delosa has come a long way since leaving his trade law degree at the age of 18 to start a business-to-business call center, his first and only failed venture.
But despite initial hurdles, in nine years he has founded two multi-million dollar businesses, and written a bestseller.
Once dubbed ‘The Young Aussie Millionaire That Didn’t Finish Uni’, five-time AFR Young Rich Lister, now 35, runs coaching giant The Entourage, is writing his third book, and recently bought an island in the Whitsundays.
Mr Delosa spoke to Daily Mail Australia after spending the previous week on Branson’s private Caribbean island, hanging out with British business magnates and other well-known businessmen.
Between train and bike rides, poolside drinks, tennis and a swim at Necker Island, Delosa said the group shared tips and discussed making the world a better place before Branson gave him some memorable advice at breakfast.
Jack Delosa (second right) has spent the last week on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island
Entourage Founder Jack Delosa (pictured) has made the AFR Rich Young List five times
Branson told Delosa the story of how he got a $6 million discount on planes in the early days of Virgin Atlantic’s formation after betting.
The chairman of the company where he bought the plane said he would only agree to a hefty discount if Branson could hypnotize anyone in the room.
The deal is done over dinner after the chairman realizes his watch is missing, not realizing the sneaky Branson has swiped it from him earlier as a joke.
“The lesson I’ve learned is that Branson wins the game before it starts,” Delosa said.
‘The second thing I learned was that he really cared about the world.’
‘He came to the island having just returned from visiting war-torn Ukraine, where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky’
“You could say that Ukraine is still on his mind and discussing what we can do as a group, which comes from a genuine desire to do as much as he can with us to help us.”
Mr Delosa also learned about the need to be a big risk taker and was astonished to see how much energy Branson still has at 71.
‘On the second last day, he took a group of us to the Virgin Islands for a 16km bike ride, where he led all the way and smoked all of us in our 30s and 40s,’ she said.
“He then beat us all in a game of tennis.”
Jack Delosa leaves Necker Island amazed at the abundance of energy and fun that Sir Richard Branson still has at 71 years old
Jack Delosa (pictured talking to a businessman on Necker Island) almost canceled his plans for a life-changing trip
Mr Delosa first met Branson while developing the curriculum for The Branson Center of Entrepreneurship in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2010 and again in 2014 on Necker Island.
“Every time I meet him, we have a meaningful relationship,” he said.
He admitted he was ‘very close’ to rescheduling his last trip to the island due to some other projects he was working on.
Among them is finalizing a deal for his own private island, which Mr Delosa plans to turn into a retreat for other entrepreneurs.
He’s also working under a tight deadline for his newest book, due for release later this year, on top of the planned US expansion of The Entourage.
He is now glad he has changed his mind and is continuing his life-changing journey.
‘It was magical in every sense of the world,’ he said.
‘When I felt it, I decided it was important to take a trip to see old friends and connect with new ones.
‘We’ve shared deep and vulnerable moments together, and had too much fun. The way we proceed you wouldn’t think that this is a collection of some of the world’s leading change makers.
‘The result is some very meaningful connections and pathways for all of us to magnify our impact in the world.
‘When you are invited into an experience that has the power to change lives, say ‘yes’. Anything is possible when you allow yourself to choose uncertainty and allow yourself to do the unimaginable.’
Mr Delosa first met Branson while developing the curriculum for The Branson Center of Entrepreneurship in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2010 and again in 2014 on Necker Island.
‘I live by the metaphor ‘You won’t pay tuition, but a diploma is worth it,’ Young Rich Lister five times told Daily Mail Australia
Mr Delosa says he has three tips for every aspiring millionaire and successful entrepreneur.
‘The first is to explore yourself. Explore the world until you find what you love and don’t give up,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘When you are driven by love, plan and vision come together.’
The second is to always be growth-oriented, regardless of how successful you are.
“I have up to eight counselors in life that I can turn to at any time because you always have to get better,” he says.
Last suggestion?
“Surround yourself with the right tribe of like-minded people, because the further away you are in business, the lonelier it gets,” he says.
At the age of 18, Delosa abandoned her bachelor’s degree and borrowed $20,000 to launch a business-to-business call center.
The failed attempt made him more determined than ever to succeed.
‘I felt the fire within me burning so brightly to be the best entrepreneur I could be,’ he says.
‘No one at the time believed I could do it but I did.’
Jack Delosa (pictured 2015) has published a bestseller at 27
Jack Delosa (depicted in his early days as an entrepreneur) was in debt $20,000 at the age of 18 before he turned his fortunes around
He bounced back a few years later when he founded MBE Education, which helps small and medium-sized businesses raise money from investors.
This business enabled their clients to raise more than $300 million from investors and would become one of the fastest growing companies in Australia.
In 2010, Mr Delosa founded The Entourage, which is now Australia’s largest provider of business training and coaching which has transformed more than 3,500 businesses across more than 150 industries.
At the age of 27, Mr Delosa has amassed a fortune of $25 million from teaching budding entrepreneurs how to succeed in business.
Entourage has since built a worldwide community of 550,000 successful entrepreneurs and business owners, and helped members generate over $2 billion in revenue.
It has also been rated by Best Places To Work as one of the top five places to work in Australia.
Mr Delosa has also invested in companies ranging from biotechnology, luxury real estate and finance to e-commerce, food retail, recruitment and aviation.
At the age of 23, Jack Delosa (left) was already a successful businessman when he first met Sir Richard Branson in 2010
Mr Delosa’s first two books were highly acclaimed bestsellers, with the first of The UnProfessional in 2014 becoming the number one business book within three weeks of its release.
But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing in recent years.
Six years ago, Delosa was losing nearly $1 million every month after government funding for vocational education was cut.
He was forced to make the cuts himself, slashing more than 50 percent of his staff from 90 to 40 within days
He has not looked back since, using the lessons he learned to help guide businesses through the Covid-19 pandemic in recent years.
His hard times in 2016 are revealed in more detail in his soon-to-be-released third book Elevate: How to Accelerate Growth and Scale Your Business Success Beyond You.
Mr Delosa has no regrets, even mistakes and bad decisions along the way.
“Every time I make a decision that gets off track, the lessons I learn are invaluable,” he said.
Jack Delosa (pictured in 2018) went from a high school dropout to an accomplished entrepreneur in five years
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