Branson's major US business venture – Virgin Mobile USA (a joint venture with Sprint) – signed up its millionth customer at the beginning of 2004. He was seeking a CEO for Virgin USA – a discount airline that would begin service in 2005. In the US, Branson was busy on several fronts.
His Australian budget airline, Virgin Blue, completed its IPO in December 2003 (valuing Branson's remaining 25 percent stake at $800 million) and during 2004 was expanding rapidly. Many of his new ventures were outside of Britain. Although he would celebrate his 54th birthday later in the year, there was little evidence during the first few months of 2004 that age and maturity had sapped Richard Branson's energy or the entrepreneurial vigor of his Virgin group of companies.
