Sir Richard Branson on Brexit and the perfect pitch [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson joined a panel of entrepreneurs in London at the 2017 launch of the Virgin Media Business VOOM small business competition which will be touring the UK with £5,000 funding up for grabs in each location.

During the Q&A, the issue of Brexit was unsurprisingly the first issue to be raised and the Virgin boss shared his thoughts arguing that small businesses are likely to be hit harder by the impact of Brexit than big businesses if negotiations don't go Britain's way.

He called on the government to works to ensure small firms can continue to trade in Europe. "It's important that it doesn't become cumbersome, bureaucratic and expensive as it did before the European Union was formed," Sir Richard said.

"If we can get rid of that hanging around our necks, I think small businesses can continue to flourish."

Among those who asked a question was Enterprise Nation member Ricky Kothari, founder of T-Sticks, who joined two Enterprise Nation international trade missions last year.

He said his strategy is to build trading relationships in Europe while we're still in the European Union. Ricky also took part in our trade mission to Paris earlier this year and we upcoming trips to New York for fashion, beauty and accessories brands and Singapore for digital, creative and technology businesses.

Panelist Toby McCartney, co-founder of MacRebur, agreed. "Our strategy is to look beyond the politics and look for the opportunities that are still there. There are many of them. We're got partners who are based in the UK and also based in Europe to get into Europe as quickly as we can.

"I think the entrepreneur's mindset should be switched on and looking for those opportunities rather than the problems or the challenges we've got."

Other subjects on the agenda were what makes Sir Richard's perfect pitch and how to protect your idea.

Watch the full video of the conversations below.