Jack Ma: I've Had Lots Of Failures And Rejections | Davos 2015

Key ideas

Ma treats rejection as ordinary, argues online commerce depends on trust between strangers, and explains why he kept Alibaba close to customers rather than dependent on government.

From a machine transcript of the audio. Quotes link to the moment they are said.

1. 1

   Expect rejection, then examine yourself

   Ma lists failed school exams, three failed university entrance exams, 30 rejected job applications and ten rejections from Harvard. He says you have to get used to it. In his view, people who check their own faults after a failure have hope, while those who blame others do not come back.

2. 2

   Build trust before you build commerce

   Ma says strangers will not trade online without a trusted system, and that Alibaba's early marketplace produced talk but few deals because there was no way to pay. Banks declined to help and launching escrow risked breaking licensing law, so after a leadership panel at Davos he told colleagues to start immediately and said he would take the legal risk himself.

3. 3

   Let customers' gains carry the early years

   Ma says Alibaba made no revenue in its first three years and the team stayed motivated because customers' lives were changing. He recalls customers leaving notes and paying his restaurant bill because they were making money while he was not. He describes earning a tiny share across a large volume of small sellers.

4. 4

   Stay close to government, stay independent

   After 14 months working with a trade ministry, Ma concluded e-commerce should not rely on government organizations. He says he spent years explaining to officials how the internet could create jobs, took no money from the government or Chinese banks though he says he wanted it at first, and usually declines government projects. When he does take one, such as fixing holiday train ticketing, he says he does not charge.

5. 5

   Treat a fortune as borrowed trust

   Ma says that at a billion dollars the money stops being yours and becomes society's trust that you can use it better than others. He describes the IPO proceeds the same way, as trust that adds pressure. He says he wants to spend more time with young people and someday return to teaching.

In Jack’s words

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