This is the narrative of the unusually optimistic and ascertained Entrepreneur, Jack Ma who has developed the face of business and the Internet in China and globally.
We are all civil creatures, always watching for reverie in practical life to trigger our thought processes and seek inspiration. Daily, we come transversely to many strangers, but we solicit inspiration from only a few of them, and what values them apart is the tales they have to speak.
We learn about how a hero comes to protect people and family; we find solace in such reports even as a child. Studies have also uncovered that such inspirational stories undoubtedly affect our brains and support us to become more confident, generous and promote our overall vision of life.
Jack Ma is a narrative of a man’s life who has impacted China’s entire economy and internet industry around single-handedly.
The originator of the E-commerce colossus Alibaba, Jack Ma, is a stakeholder at Alipay, its sister company, an e-payment portal. He is now formally the richest man in China with an appraised net worth of $25 Billion, on the back of his company’s contemporary world-record $150 Billion IPO filing. Given all of this, Jack Ma only operates a 7.8% stake in Alibaba and a 50% stake in Alipay. Alibaba and Jack Ma, although they are not household stars out of China, you need to know that Alibaba is worth higher than Facebook and processes goods more than eBay and Amazon consolidated!
It might be starting to appear like the story of an overbearing and wealthy billionaire who hasn’t seen the gloom. But don’t be confused by the numbers that you understand before; they can beat anyone. Although as manageable as it may articulate, Jack Ma has had it tough in his career to grow to where he is now. A true rags-to-riches story and one which will inspire you even in your darkest days.
Jack Ma The History
Ma Yun, aka Jack Ma, is one of the self-made billionaires with modest origins. Jack Ma was born in Hangzhou, inhabited in the south-eastern division of China. He was born and grown with an elder brother and a younger sister during the emergence of communist China and its detachment from the Western provinces. His parents were classical Musicians-Storytellers, and they didn’t make enough to be expected middle class during those days.
Jack was constantly aspired to learn English as a teenager, and he used his early mornings sitting on his bike to a nearby park, marketing English trips to foreigners for free. Then, eventually, he met a foreign girl who addressed him with the nickname ‘Jack’ for his name was troublesome to spell for her.
After finishing with a Bachelor’s degree as an English graduate, Jack worked as an English teacher at Hangzhou Dianzi University to pay $12 a month! However, here comes the bit where it gets more interesting, even before he has received that degree and became an English teacher.
Rejected, But Not a Failure
Jack Ma is a lucky bloke who just grew a billionaire in a snap. But it is secure in knowing that Rejections are synonymous with Jack Ma. You wouldn’t consider the number of times this man has been denied and disappointed.
Jack Ma lost in his Primary School examinations in his immediate childhood, not once, but twice! He was disappointed thrice during his Middle School exams. After applying to universities, Jack missed the entrance exams thrice before eventually joining Hangzhou Normal University. He even practiced and wrote to Harvard University ten times about being acknowledged and got rejected each time.
Following his Bachelor’s degree, Jack worked and was disappointed to get a job at many sites. Finally, after three years of getting into a University, Jack could not dock a job after applying to them 30 times!
Also, in his Entrepreneurial endeavors, Jack Ma claimed to fail on two of his initial ventures. But that didn’t hinder him in any way from conceiving more consequential.
Broken, but Not Out: The Resurrection of Jack Ma
Overcoming the discomfort of dismissals and handling rejections as possibilities to learn and grow was what Jack Ma got of it.
After eventually coming to terms with all of his denials and failures, Jack Ma toured the US in 1995 for a State undertaking project related to the development of highways.
Jack Ma was first acquainted with the Internet and Computers. Computers were moderately deficient in China then, given the high costs, and the Internet and even E-mails were non-existent. The first word he explored on the Mosaic browser was ‘Beer .’
It leaped out results from several countries, but no signs of China anywhere. He then studied ‘China,’ and not a single result popped out! Finally, he determined it was time for China and its people to take on the Internet.
Finally, after convincing 17 of his friends to fund and follow him in his new e-commerce startup, Alibaba began from his flat. Initially, Alibaba didn’t hold a single penny in investment from external investors, but they later advanced $20 Million from SoftBank and an extra $5 Million from Goldman Sachs in 1999. Raising confidence among the people of China that an online system of payment and unit transfers is safe was the most significant challenge Jack Ma and Alibaba met, a call that Jack will honor for his lifetime.
By started his first prosperous company at 31, and even after never having recorded a single line of code or trading something to anyone, Jack Ma operates one of the most far-reaching E-commerce networks in the world.
The company snowballed, expanding all around the globe, fast-growing out of its China shell. Only next to Walmart now in terms of sales per year, Alibaba has grown the E-commerce giant that Jack Ma has envisioned.
Key Takeaways on Jack Ma
With a positive and childlike attitude to him, the one who himself brings inspiration is the real-life ‘Forrest Gump,’ who never examines himself disadvantaged due to incidents that occurred to him.
Holding in yourself, Being Persistent in the face of adversities, and treating rejections and failures as opportunities to propel yourselves ahead is what Jack Ma’s extraordinary life speaks out to the world.