I never get the accountants in before I start up a business. It’s done on gut feeling, especially if I can see that they are taking the mickey out of the consumer.

Branson contrasts conventional, spreadsheet-led entrepreneurship with an instinctive, customer-led approach. The line suggests he starts ventures when he senses—often viscerally—that an industry is overcharging, under-serving, or otherwise exploiting customers (“taking the mickey”). Accountants symbolize caution and post‑hoc justification; “gut feeling” symbolizes speed, opportunism, and a bias toward action. The quote also frames Virgin’s brand mythology: entering markets (airlines, telecoms, finance) not primarily to optimize margins but to disrupt complacent incumbents and rebalance value toward consumers. It implicitly argues that moral outrage at unfair treatment can be a legitimate business signal, though it downplays the later need for rigorous financial discipline.