Alibaba founder Jack Ma
was never supposed to be a
billionaire.
Harvard snubbed him. He
flunked college entrance
exams twice. Investors
thought the serial
entrepreneur was crazy
when he started building an
e-commerce site in China.
But Ma proved them all
wrong. Alibaba, which he
launched in 1999 from his
tiny Hangzhou apartment,
is set for one of the largest
IPOs in U.S. history.
Analysts estimate that
Alibaba -- which does most
things digital -- could be
valued at $200 billion,
roughly four times the
market cap of Lockheed
Martin.
How did an English teacher
with a modest translation
business become a tech
titan? It began with a drink.
Searching for "beer" and
"China" during his first use
of the Internet in 1995, Ma
found nothing. But there
was plenty of information
about American beer. And
German beer.
Sensing an opportunity, Ma
built a Chinese-language
webpage. Within hours of
launch, he was receiving
enquiries from around the
world. The Internet, Ma
thought, is "going to change
the world and change
China."
A few years later, in 1999,
Ma gathered 17 friends and
acquaintances at his home.
They worked feverishly on a
new venture: a website to
connect exporters with
foreign buyers.
Alibaba.com was born. The
firm quickly outgrew Ma's
apartment, eventually
becoming the dominant
tech company in China.
The comedian is our CEO
Ma, 49, has always been
proud of his humble roots.
When Alibaba launched, Ma
had no money, no tech
experience and a
haphazard management
style.
But he did have plenty of
charisma. Former
executives say Ma's
infectious optimism -- and
his talent with languages --
helped sell the dream.
"He's funny! He can do
standup in Chinese or
English," said Duncan Clark,
a former Alibaba
consultant. "He can adapt
to the audience ... he has
the ability to make
everybody in the room feel
as if he's talking to just one
person."
Ma, married with two kids,
is also known to rely on gut
instinct.
"He cares more about what
is in someone's heart than
what is on their resume,"
said Porter Erisman, a
former executive who
made a documentary about
the company. "Look at the
senior managers -- at
Alibaba, a lot of them had
no prior business
experience."
Employees are "Ali people,"
and managers are given
nicknames taken from
popular Chinese martial
arts novels. Ma, a tai chi
devotee, sometimes draws
inspiration for company
strategy from those books.
The Yangtze River crocodile
Ma is also a ferocious
competitor, and steadfast
in his belief that Chinese
firms can take on
international rivals.
"Chinese brains are just as
good ... this is the reason
we dare to compete with
Americans," Ma told his
fellow co-founders in 1999.
"We can beat government
agencies and big famous
companies, because of our
innovative spirit."
It was this conviction that
led Ma to challenge eBay in
2003 when the Silicon
Valley firm was expanding
its China operation.
Spoiling for a fight, Ma sent
a team back to his
apartment to devise the
next big thing. "EBay is a
shark in the ocean; we are
a crocodile in the Yangtze
River," he said. "If we fight
in the ocean, we will lose,
but if we fight in the river,
we will win."
The team came back with a
product called Taobao, or
"searching for treasure," in
Chinese. The platform was
similar to eBay, but better
suited to the local market.
Yahoo invested $1 billion in
the venture. Within a few
years, Taobao squeezed
eBay out of China. The
marketplace handled $177
billion in sales in 2013.
"Ali People" flock to Alifest
Alibaba is a global company
with 22,000 employees and
90 offices. Its popular sites,
Taobao and Tmall.com,
account for 80% of China's
online retail sales, and
receive more than 100
million visitors a day.
The group and its affiliates
operate an e-payment
business, online investment
funds, cloud computing and
mobile services.
Remembering how difficult
it was to get financing for
his translation business, Ma
started a loan service to
help entrepreneurs.
Alibaba is also getting into
entertainment and sports,
acquiring media companies
and a soccer team in a pre-
IPO buying spree. Critics
say this is irresponsible -- a
last hurrah before Ma is
beholden to shareholders.
Ma stepped down as CEO in
2013, and now pursues
philanthropic endeavors.
But he remains chief
strategist at Alibaba, and
the public face of the
company. He is, by all
accounts, still very involved
in management decisions.
Once a year, employees
and customers turn their
attention to Alifest -- a
conference that at times
resembles a rock concert.
The blowout event has
featured guests including
Bill Clinton and Kobe
Bryant.
"Alifest convinced me to
join Alibaba," said former
executive David Wei. "I've
never seen so many happy
customers, so many happy
employees."
Ma performs at these
gatherings, donning sparkly
costumes and belting out
popular tunes. The crowd
always goes wild.
"I never thought I would be
where I am today," Ma said
in a speech last year. "I
never thought Alibaba
would be where it is today."

Source: m.cnnmoney.com/primary/article?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2Fmobile%2Fjson%2F2014%2F09%2F04%2Ftechnology%2Fjack-ma-alibaba.json&category=homepage

Cool! The power of innovation!

Good one Ma. You thought it, worked it and achieved it. It takes only a person with uncanny imaginations to be able to make this out.
Ma, you inspire. I'm inspired!

Good to know all this but I Think Nigeria should b Africa's china,d reverse is d case; am looking forward to when indigenous firm will stand head to head with foreign ones