Interview With Jack Ma – Alibaba & Taobao (Concl.)

Jack Ma, born in the year of the dragon, speaks of himself as ugly and smart.

Taobao , the Chinese version of eBay.com was started in the midst of hte SARS epidemic. In fact, 600 of Alibaba’s employees were quarantined because another employee was diagnosed with the disease. Undeterred they launched their new venture.

Here are a few Maisms….

1. My idea of quality control is – can I figure out how to do this new procedure without a manual? (He says he still doesn’t know how to watch a DVD on a PC)

2. Most companies fail because they have too much money – all new branches of his company start in apartments to teach the value of the adhering to a budget.

3.  www.Yahoo.com has better technology than www.google.com   (Ma and Yang just signed an agreement to work together that saw $1billion change hands).

Former Secretary of State, George Shultz, introduced Jack Ma at the interview, calling him the

Spirit of Entrepreneurship

Jack Ma has indeed showed many how it should be done.  There is one thing that can’t be seen in the words here and that is the emotion that nearly overcame him when he quoted Winston Churchhill’s charge to the troops to never give up.

Jack Ma came from humble beginnings, has worked hard, achieved great heights and is still climbing.

It is my impression that this ex-teacher has a heart and desire to succeed that his small stature can barely contain.

Well done, Jack.