Jack Ma the Alibaba
Dear friends,
Mr Jack Ma is definitely one of the powerful role models to look up to. He started off as a nobody, through much perseverance and hardships, he then now arose as someone extremely successful, highly respected and sought after for.
He has again proved to the world that one does not need to be wealthy or have a higher education in order to make their dreams come true. Success is in our hands, it is up to us whether if we want to make it happen or not. I hope you enjoy this inspiring article on Mr Ma.
Tsem Rinpoche
13 Fascinating Facts About the Man Behind the Largest IPO in History
ByWaylae Gregoire | Posted on September 23, 2014
Do you know Jack?
Jack Ma, the 5-foot-tall Chinese man with a friendly looking face, is the chairman of Alibaba’s record-shattering $25 billion IPO, which now sits as one of the largest companies on the market. But how much does anyone really know about his amazing story of starting a small business in his one-room apartment to becoming one of the richest men in China?
Here are 13 fascinating facts from the legendary life of Jack Ma.
Jack Ma’s Life Is Full of Failures
When he applied for admission to the Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute (now Hangzhou Normal University), Ma failed the college entrance exam twice. He eventually graduated in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in English.
By 1995, he decided teaching wasn’t for him, so he decided to try his hand at business. Around this time, he even applied for a job at KFC in Hangzhou, only to be rejected. Ma also started a translation company, and on a trip to Seattle, he discovered the internet, inspiring him to start his first legit business, China Yellow Pages. While it is regarded as China’s first internet-based company, China Yellow Pages was also a failure.
As we all know, however, Ma’s second company, Alibaba, is doing much better.
How Jack Ma Learned English
Ma wanted to learn English so badly that when he was 13, he would wake up at 5 a.m. and would ride his bike 45 minutes from where he lived in Hangzhou to the then Hangzhou Hotel just to talk to foreigners and take tourists sightseeing for free. Through this practice, he not only polished his English but also learned “Western people’s system, ways, methods and techniques.”
The Time Jack Ma Was Threatened With a Gun, Kidnapped and Taken to Las Vegas
From the “Alibaba Saga” in Forbes comes a story of Jack Ma’s crazy West Coast adventure.
In 1995, Ma traveled for the first time to the U.S. on interpretation business. Part of his business included trying to collect a debt for a friend from an American businessman in Malibu, California. It turns out that this American didn’t want to pay back the debt and instead locked Ma in his house, trying to force him to cut a deal. This guy was clearly crazy. Jack Ma explained:
“At one point he started playing with his handgun. It was obviously meant as a threat.”
Scared of what he assumed was a trigger-happy American “cowboy,” Ma complied with his demands while trying to find any way to escape. We aren’t sure if Jack was forced to stay with the American, but a few days later, the American decided to take Jack to Las Vegas as a “routine showcase trip” for Chinese businessmen. It was clear that Jack was still his captive.
To make matters worse, Jack Ma had almost no money on him — so he decided to try his luck at the slot machines. Miraculously, Ma won $600; he managed to escape the businessman, left everything he had behind with him, went to the airport, and used his winnings to buy a plane ticket to Seattle where his friend was waiting.
“It was a terrible experience … Every time I think of L.A., I have a nightmare,” says Ma.
True story.
When Jack Ma First Discovered the Internet
In 1995, while in Seattle visiting his friend, Jack first laid his eyes on a mysterious box-like device that he later learned was called a “computer.” His friend told him to try it out, and that’s when he discovered the world wide web. This inspired him to create his first business, China Yellow Pages, which he started with 7000 yuan ($1140) of his personal savings and a loan from a family member. Ma entered the world of dial-up internet.
“The day we got connected to the web, I invited friends and TV people over to my house … we waited three and a half hours and got half a page …. We drank, watched TV and played cards, waiting. But I was so proud. I proved (to my house guests that) the internet existed.”
HOW JACK MA PICKED THE NAME ALIBABA
Originally posted on Alibaba’s company forum, but no longer available, someone asked why Ma chose the name Alibaba. This is what Jack said:
“One day I was in San Francisco in a coffee shop, and I was thinking Alibaba is a good name. And then a waitress came, and I said do you know about Alibaba? And she said yes. I said what do you know about Alibaba, and she said ‘Open Sesame.’ And I said yes, this is the name!
Then I went onto the street and found 30 people and asked them, ‘Do you know Alibaba?’ People from India, people from Germany, people from Tokyo and China… They all knew about Alibaba. Alibaba — open sesame. Alibaba — 40 thieves. Alibaba is not a thief. Alibaba is a kind, smart business person, and he helped the village. So…easy to spell, and global know.
Alibaba opens sesame for small- to medium-sized companies. We also registered the name AliMama, in case someone wants to marry us!”
On the Day Alibaba Went Public, Ma Didn’t Even Ring the Bell at the NYSE
Because Alibaba is supposed to be focused on customers, Ma had eight Alibaba customers ring the opening bell instead.
Jack Ma Loves Dogs and Owns an Alsatian Named Apollo
Zhang Ying (Jack Ma’s Wife) Was There With Him From the Very Beginning
Zhang Ying and Jack Ma met in school when they were studying to be teachers. They married shortly after they graduated in the late 80s. She remained a teacher while Ma was building China Yellow Pages and she eventually quit being a teacher to jump on Alibaba’s team from the very beginning as the company’s “political commissar.”
As the Commissar, she spent the early days cooking meals for clients and associates and apparently running odd errands. She eventually became Alibaba China’s GM. She now focuses on caring for the couple’s two children.
“Ma Yun [Jack Ma] is not a handsome man, but I fell for him because he can do a lot of things handsome men cannot do.”
How Jack Ma Told His Wife How Much Money His Company Made
A couple years after Ma started Alibaba, his wife asked him how much money the company had made. Jack responded by raising a single finger.
“Ten million yuan ($1.6 million)?” she asked.
“No.” Jack responded.
“A hundred million yuan ($16 million)?” she asked.
“No.” said Jack again. “One million yuan ($160,000) …” he said to his wife’s disappointment.
“… a day.” he added.
Jack Ma’s Lifelong Hero Isn’t Even a Real Person
In his quirky, broken English, Jack Ma explains his love for Forrest Gump:
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/JackMaOnForestGump.mp4
“I watched the movie again, telling me that no matter whatever changed, you are you. I’m still the guy 15 years ago, you know, I only earned like $20 a month. Today I can do that much.”
In all seriousness, Jack Ma has a beautiful soul.
How Running Alibaba Caused Family Trouble for the Mas
Unfortunately, focusing on growing a multi-billion dollar company takes its toll when it comes to time for family.
Zhang admitted in earlier interviews that they had effectively “sacrificed” their son, who was born in 1992, for the company. They put him in daycare five days a week, only seeing him on weekends, and their parental absence eventually led to his addiction to online gaming at internet cafes, where he spent most of his time rather than returning to an empty home.
Jack later asked his wife to step down from her role as Alibaba China’s general manager to become a stay-at-home mom for their then two children, a move she was very reluctant to make, but in the end she chose family over the money.
“She helps me a lot with my career and family,” Ma tells of his wife when it comes to balancing the success of Alibaba and his family.
Why Jack Ma Leads His Company by “Not Leading at All”
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd founder Jack Ma (C) gestures in front of the New York Stock Exchange before his company’s initial public offering (IPO) under the ticker “BABA” in New York September 19, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
In an interview with Xiao-Ping Chen, a professor at Washington University, Ma explained his very unique and humble management philosophy that mixes Tai Chi, Taoism and Buddhism.
“In Taoism, the best leadership is not leading at all … No teachers want their students to fail. So I never steal the spotlight from newly hired young people. If someone warns me about an employee who is trying to overstep me, I reply that I’m a teacher and that’s the way it should be.”
When Jack Ma Was Called Crazy (a Lot) for Starting Alibaba
In 1999, Jack Ma founded Alibaba after raising $60,000 with 18 friends in his one-bedroom apartment. He started his humble e-commerce company in an attempt to connect small Chinese businesses with global markets. As the underdog going up against an already established and expanding eBay in China, many people called him crazy. Ma told Xiao-Ping Chen:
“I gave a speech at Harvard in 2002. After my talk, a CEO from a foreign company said that I was a mad man. He said he had been in China for many years, and didn’t believe that my way of managing a company would work. I invited him to visit Alibaba. After a three-day stay, he said, ‘Now I understand. Here you have 100 mad men just like you.’ ”
15 years later, Alibaba now holds the record for the largest IPO ever in U.S. history at $25 billion with a market cap of $231.44 billion, more than Amazon’s $153.08 billion and eBay’s $65.04 billion combined. Alibaba trades on the NYSE under (BABA).
Underdogs do win after all.
Source: https://nextshark.com/13-fascinating-facts-about-the-man-behind-the-largest-ipo-in-history/
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Jack Ma is known for the business savvy that catapulted the company he founded to worldwide fame – and made him the richest person in Asia.
But both his rags-to-riches life story and the insights he gleaned from his experiences make for interesting reading as well.
It takes a rare person to accumulate a total net worth over $20 billion through a devoted work ethic while maintaining a sense of perspective. Jack Ma is one of those people. The founder and CEO of Alibaba, one of the world’s leading e-commerce web portals, is one of the world’s richest men, but he has not let success cloud his vision for the future or his acknowledgment of where he came from. Jack Ma’s keys to success are true and inspiring for everyone from aspiring billionaires to owners of the smallest businesses.
1. He Values Attitude
When Jack Ma talks about the biggest mistake he ever made he describes how when he founded Alibaba he told his team that the highest level they could achieve would be that of managers and that executives should be hired from the outside. Ma has learned his lesson and now stresses the importance of attitude and passion over theoretical skills.
2. He Unites People under a Single Goal
Ma understands that no matter how hard you try you will never be able to convince every single employee, business partner, and potential investor to trust you or believe what you say. Accepting that and changing your approach is another key to his massive success. Rather than uniting his company under the vision of one person, he unites them under a common goal. The vision is more important than the leader.
3. He has Foresight
Jack Ma believes that a good leader should have foresight. He should try to stay one step ahead of the competition and anticipate how decisions will play out ahead of other people. Taking time to develop creative thinking skills and following informed intuition is a hallmark of any great business leader.
4. He Hires People with Superior Skills
When asked what separates a leader from an employee Ma has gone on record saying “Your employee should have superior technical skills than you. If he doesn’t, it means you have hired the wrong person.” Focusing on the skills of employees and hiring people with the know how to carry out your vision is an important pillar of any great company.
5. He is Tenacious
In addition to foresight, Ma says leaders should be tenacious and have a clear vision. Knowing what you want to achieve and having the drive to chase it down will not only put you on the path to success, it will inspire those around you to work hard for that common goal. Taking pride in your work and not taking no for an answer are keys to Ma’s business philosophy.
6. He Defines Failure as Giving Up
According to Ma, “giving up is the greatest failure.” If you go out, try your best and fail to achieve your goal but see it through to the end you are a success. Like all great leaders, Ma recognizes that a person is able to learn the most from obstacles and hardships. The key to success is persevering and learning from your mistakes.
7. He Loves Life
“I always tell myself that we are born here not to work, but to enjoy life. We are here to make things better for one another, and not to work. If you are spending your whole life working, you will certainly regret it.” This sentiment lies at the heart of Jack Ma’s lifestyle. Life is for experiencing the world and helping out other people. If money is your goal, you have to change your mindset.
8. He Doesn’t Make Enemies
One of the most unique aspects of Jack Ma’s business philosophy is the idea of friendly competition. Ma does not see his competitors as his enemies, rather they are friends whom he can learn from and who challenge him to achieve his full potential.
It is clear that Jack Ma’s philosophy is built for success in a rapidly developing world. We can all learn a thing or two from this self-made billionaire.
This is really a good article about Jack Ma. From this article we can know about his struggles and his life had many ups and downs. Despite his previous failures, he remains a humble leader, who always He is always encouraging others to keep working and trying and not to give up.
There’s a lot to learn and be inspired.Thanks for sharing is a very motivating story of one of richest man in world
Success does not come easily, and respect has to be earned. Jack Ma is a very good example of this. Jack Ma is one of the richest men in the world, but his wealth does not come from his family background. He worked hard to get to where he is now.
After reading Jack Ma’s story and other successful people’s stories, they have a lot of similarities.
1. They are not afraid to fail, they will try and find different ways to be successful.
2. They are visionary, they know what they want and they have plans to achieve their goals. They will execute their plan without delaying it.
3. They don’t in their comfort zone, they always look for new challenges.
4. They are not afraid to take the responsibilities and to make decisions.
5. They are very determined and they are not afraid of hardship or long hour of working.
If we want to be successful, we have to sacrifice our comfort. We have to have a big vision and act fast, we just have to keep trying until we are successful. Failures and hardships are expected, they are part and parcel in the journey to success.
I find that Jack Ma is generous in giving helpful advices. He doesn’t hesitate to share his own experiences on how to run a company well. He is showing good example for many. ?
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videouploads/comment-1534610259.mp4
Jack Ma is the richest man in China and his life story has become an inspiration for many people. He made lots of miracles due to his determination and the never give up attitude. His courage to compete with ecommerce giant eBay by then with his small start-up proved to the world about his foresight as well as his bold and fearless perseverance. Jack recognizes that a person is able to learn the most from obstacles and hardships where if we don’t give up, we still have a chance. His tenacity and the out-of-the-box thinking played a huge role too in driving his success. He is such a legend where his success stories, his humility and his attitude make him a true leader of inspiration for all the entrepreneurs and the young generations.
There is a great does of self belief and guts that made Jack Ma into the success he is now, and so much tenacity and determination. I think thats the lesson I get from the story of Jack Ma, never give up attitude. It reminds me of Rinpoche’s struggles when he wanted to pursue the Dharma, there were so much obstacles, also many people who made it in life they never gave up and tried until they succeeded.
Jack Ma is a guy dare to make big dreams and through perseverance and finally he did it. Even though he is rich but he also don’t forget to continually contribute to society. He always offer helpings hands to small business and create more rich people. I think this create a win win situation because more rich people then more businesses to Alibaba.
Although business is important but family shouldn’t be ignored. Jack Ma advise his wife to resign a general manager position to take care his son. This is very good because money can’t buy childhood time. We should spend more time with children.
Thanks Rinpoche sharing such a inspiring article to inspire more people to be entrepreneurs.
Jason
Jack Ma has went thru lots of hardship, failures and trying error to get to his success today. He started with nothing but now he is one of the riches man in the world. Jack Ma always play importance on the customers, and make sure the successful of his team members and employees. This philosophy of his has lead him to be one of the greatest world renown Chinese businessman. There are so much we can learn from him.
This is very a very interesting write up about Jack Ma. It is good to know about his struggles, but just as many successful people, his life had many ups and downs. I love the inspiring way that Jack Ma failed many times in life but never gave up and actually used these failures to draw greater strength to succeed and achieve his goals. Despite his previous failures, he remains a humble leader, who encourages/nutures the growth of his employees, and hence is well respected in his own right. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this, there are many lessons to be learned.
Interesting article! I didn’t think much of Jack Ma till I read his story in this article. I think what striked me about Jack Ma is his tremendous humility, wit and amazing ability to enroll people into his business. It seems that he had to work a lot harder than most people and had his fair share of failures in life.
There’s a lot to learn and be inspired. He is now the richest man in China and he doesn’t have any airs about him and that is really good because it shows that he earned his way up and he knows where he stands. He sure has made some of the most controversial business statements. But whatever it is, he sure made it and from now on, its just a manner of what he would like to do with his wealth and power. With it, he can waste it all away on materialism or use it to help many others. it depends on his priorities in life. The same goes for everyone, with the amount of resources that we have.
There are many qualities to be admired in Jack Ma , qualities from which we can draw inspiration. There are however, two most exceptional ones . One is his courage to face already established giants in the field of business he had decided to venture into, even when he was thought of by most in the business circles to be crazy.It did not bother him even if he was seen to be the underdog.
The second is his humility and egalitarian outlook towards newer or younger potential competitors. Not for him the conventional ‘Big Leader-Big Boss lording over others’. He allows them to overstep his authority.He is like a teacher with his students, whose main role is to guide and nurture them, and not to be threatened by them .
Yes, Jack Ma will continue to inspire because of his simple, direct and forthright ways and his courage. He has no airs about him.If you want success, go for it -is his message to all.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this inspiring article on Jack Ma
‘ when there is will there is way’. If a person has a very strong passion on what they want, nothing is impossible so long as there is also same people which has same crazy passion like Jack Ma. He manage to have a team, with crazy passion like him. I like the phrases by Jack Ma, “I gave a speech at Harvard in 2002. After my talk, a CEO from a foreign company said that I was a mad man. He said he had been in China for many years, and didn’t believe that my way of managing a company would work. I invited him to visit Alibaba. After a three-day stay, he said, ‘Now I understand. Here you have 100 mad men just like you.'” An inspiring article. Thanks.
This is a very motivating,inspiring and touching story. Jack Ma would be a true inspiration for many men out there I’m sure 🙂
With strong determination,effort,perseverance and going through all the rejection and hardship will make us even stronger to succeed in life. We need a positive mindset and attitude to go all the way until we get results. Thank you very much Rinpoche and blog team for this wonderful and inspiring story._/\_
The thing that strikes me most about Jack Ma is that he is one person who refused to let failure drag him down. He just hunker down and plough on. And, today with his success he is not bitter but is sharing his journey with anyone who would listen. He is always encouraging others to keep working and trying and not to give up. You never know what is waiting for you around the corner, once you turn it. So, you do have to turn that corner.
I am like Jack Ma’s straight-forward and no nonsense business sense. It can be seen in how and why he named his e-commerce empire Alibaba. And how he witty-ly also registered AliMama in case anyone want to “married” Alibaba. This is ambitious with his eyes on the pulse of the consumers. The same of him can be seen even back in 1995; when he first learnt about the world wide web, he opened his first business which is China Yellow Pages, online. To me, the biggest learning from Jack Ma is his fearlessness against the already established brands, by leveraging his know-how of the local market. Thank you for this sharing.
Jack Ma said that he is influenced by Tai Chi, Taoism and Buddhism in his management philosophy. I rejoice for him! I believe that his spiritual values as well as his background as an educator have made him mentally strong, yet humble and caring, qualities that contributed to his success. I hope Mr Ma will use his knowledge, experience and material wealth to help make the world a better place, where people feel safe and happy. I wish Jack Ma and his family long life, good health and lasting happiness.
How funny! He is the same person as before but no one listened to him when he was nothing. People will start to listen to you, check you out and admire you when you are something.
From this article:
1. I’ve realised that every failure is an opportunity for us to examine ourselves, to face ourselves and improve on the weaknesses.
2. Change your method and not your goals. The goal doesn’t have to be in monetary term, perhaps like empowering others to succeed.
3. Also never trade family value with the time and the cost taken to build your empire. It is either you build you own family value or hire others to build theirs.
Thank you Rinpoche.,
Have heard and read about this Jack Ma a powerful founder of Alibaba before.Amazing how he made billions from rags to riches, zero to hero.A truly inspiring man …….for those younger generations to learn from him.
This billionaire Jack Ma has become the richest man in China,currently the richest person in Asia and the 14th richest in the world.
His inspiring life story was very interesting…his early life,education and success.Jack Ma is the kind of exceptional and talented leaders who redefine the path of success, defying the odds in spearheaded e-commerce in China.Hope more people will be inspred by him to be a successful .
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these inspiring post.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article about Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba. This article highlights to us that nothing can stop us from doing what we want to do. Just that we need to be persistent and consistent. Failure is not end of the world for us. We just need to try again using another method or looking from another angle which might give us the answer we were looking for.
With folded palms,
Vivian
When I listen to or see videos of Jack Ma, I feel a sensation of choking at my throat as in mind I visualised him in the following description:-
{A “small” GIANT making a stand on a huge huge world stage for every small and hopeful person to make a success in life.}
This vision of Jack Ma makes me choke with joy of happiness. May he be blessed to be a dream maker and hope giver to many.