Jack Ma Alibaba story

Jack Ma success

As humans, we are deeply social and need a spark of fantasy to work with to get us motivated and thinking. In our everyday lives, we interact with several people, and Jack Ma is one of them, but we derive motivation from only a select few. What differentiates these few that capture our interest is the rich tapestry of stories that they have to share. As young kids, we take comfort in stories, like the classic heroic figure who rides in to save his people, and we grow up cherishing these narratives. Research shows that such stories, classified as inspirational, have powerful effects on our brains, fostering a greater sense of empathy, an increase in generosity, and an overall more positive perception of life.

Today’s focal point is the story of a man who, quite literally, altered the entire economy and internet industry of China. The life of this man bears a striking resemblance to the tale of Robert the Bruce and the Spider, which we first encountered in kindergarten. That man is Jack Ma.

Who is Jack Ma?

Jack Ma is the face of China’s E-commerce jumpstart as the founder of Alibaba. He is an associate at Alipay, the sister company which is an e-payment portal. Currently, he holds the title of the richest man in China with an already mind-boggling net worth of $25 billion and the headline-grabbing record of a $150 billion IPO filing for his company. Although Jack Ma only holds a 7.8 per cent stake in Alibaba and 50 per cent in Alipay, it’s interesting to mention Ma is not well known outside China, but one should know Alibaba is valued greater than Facebook and moves more merchandise than eBay and Amazon combined.

You might think now it’s becoming the story of a rich, arrogant person who hasn’t seen the dark side. But don’t let the numbers deceive you, as they are misleading anyone who wants to be misled. ma has had a tougher childhood than most people out there. “A true rags-to-riches story jackpot visit will make you believe in hope even on your toughest days.”

Early Life

Ma Yun, or Jack Ma as most know him, is a self-made billionaire with a fairly humble life history. Jack’s early life began in Hangzhou, in southeastern China. He was born alongside an older brother and a younger sister amid communist China and its West-ostracizing wounds. The family had traditional Musicians-Storytellers as parents who, during these times, could not even be deemed middle class.

When former US president Richard Nixon visited Hangzhou in 1972, it significantly improved tourism in Jack’s hometown. Jack wished to exploit learning opportunities and pursued English very seriously. Additionally, he used to ride his bicycle to a nearby park where he gave free English tours to foreigners and, to his luck, met a foreign girl who nicknamed him ‘Jack’, making things much easier for him.

After completing his bachelor’s degree in English, Jack started working as an English teacher at Hangzhou Dianzi University—earning a whopping $12 a month! Now, this is where things start to pick up. This fascinating story begins before he got the degree and way before he started teaching English.

Rejected, but Not a Failure

During this period, Jack Ma unexpectedly became a billionaire overnight. It’s also safe to note that Ma is very familiar with the term rejection. You would be stunned at the amount of failure and rejection this man went through.

In his early years, Jack Ma experienced failure in his primary school and did not succeed in his first two attempts. Later on, Jack had the same experience during his middle school exams, where he failed three times. Post completing high school, Jack struggled with entrance exams for universities and failed three times before being accepted to Hangzhou Normal University. Jack attempted to gain admission to Harvard University ten times, all of which resulted in rejection. And this was only in his education years.

During and after his degree, Jack struggled to secure a job and attempted multiple positions without success. After trying to get into a university for three years, graduating, and applying to 30 different companies, Jack was still unable to find employment. He recalls the moment he realised he was underestimated in his job prospects: “When KFC came to China, 24 people went for the job. Only 23 individuals received acceptance. I was the only individual not accepted. Jack also applied to the police force, the only candidate out of 5 to be rejected with the words “No, you’re no good” voiced to him.

In his aspirations to become an entrepreneur, Jack had set sights on being extremely ambitious, though he did not succeed in two of his initial attempts. This undeterred him from persisting and following his dreams.

Down, but Not Out!

The Resurrection of Jack Ma

“What did you learn from your rejections?” “Well, I think we have to get used to it. We’re not that good.” That’s how he responded. Jack Ma embraced overcoming the pain of rejection in business as an opportunity to learn and grow.

After Ma accepted all of his rejections and failures, he was given an assignment in 1995 to work on a government project in the United States that focused on highway construction. That’s when Jack Ma got to see the Internet and computers for the first time. Considering the cost, computers were quite rare in China at the time, and there was no Internet or e-mail. The first word he typed on the mosaic browser was ‘Beer’, and it displayed results from various countries, but none from China. He typed in ‘China’, and not a single result popped out! This was the moment he knew it was time for the people of China to step into the digital world.

Jack Ma start-up

Eventually, he successfully convinced 17 of his other friends to invest in his new e-commerce venture, and thus, Alibaba was born from his apartment. Initially, Alibaba did not have a single penny in external investment, but in 1999, it went on to raise $20 million from SoftBank and another $5 million from Goldman Sachs. Ma and Alibaba’s greatest challenge was to win the trust of the Chinese citizens that an online system of payment and package transfers is viable, a challenge Jack will forever cherish.

Never having sold anything or even having written a single line of code. Jack Ma started his first successful company at 31. And now, he runs one of the largest e-commerce networks globally. The company has experienced significant growth and international expansion. Rapidly expanding beyond its initial boundaries. Now, only second to Walmart in sales per year. Jack Ma’s vision for Alibaba is now becoming the giant he envisioned it to be.

Jack Ma Interview with Us

What does all this culminate in? This one is a cheery figure with the disposition of a kid. As someone who enlightens him, he is the actual ‘Forrest Gump’. A gentleman who, regardless of the numerous hurdles thrown in his path, always moves forward with a smile.

You can cultivate inner strength and demonstrate extreme diligence in your pursuit of success. Indeed, failures and rejections serve as stepping stones for progress, and obstacles facilitate your advancement in life. All of this is what Jack Ma has shared with humanity, leveraging the myriad opportunities offered to him.