October 25, 2013 2 min read

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Most entrepreneurs know launching a business requires blood, sweat and tears. Perhaps none more so than Richard Branson.

At the 40th celebration of Virgin Records, the 63-year-old who has helped shape the music, space and airline industries, recalled crying when he sold the record label more than 20 years ago for $1 billion.

"Of course, it was very hard - it's like selling your children," Branson said in an interview with Reuters. "I mean, you build something from scratch, we had just signed Janet Jackson, we had just signed the Rolling Stones when we sold it, and I remember running down Ladbroke Grove, tears streaming down my face with the check for a billion dollars.”

The record label was sold to Thorn EMI in 1992 and was the catalyst for many other business ventures. In the years since selling the label he founded, Branson, who is currently attempting to make commercial space travel a reality, would go on to launch some of the world’s most innovative companies.

"We wouldn't be building spaceships today if it hadn't been for that (sale) so it was the right decision," Branson told Reuters.

Related: Richard Branson Shares Letter He Wrote to 12-Year-Old Fan About Keys to Success