Jack Ma is the founder of Alibaba, the Chinese company included by Forbes in the list of the 2 most important companies in the world. Alibaba was born as an online shopping site with the aim of acting as a link between Chinese manufacturers and customers from all over the world. In 2012, two of Alibaba's main portals handled $170 billion in sales, more than the combined sales on eBay and Amazon.com. Alibaba mainly operates in China, and has an estimated valuation of between $55 and $120 billion. The founder of Alibaba, now 50, interviewed by a Korean broadcaster reveals the secrets of success and gives advice to all 20-year-olds and 60-year-olds.
1) Optimism
The main ingredient of success for the founder of Alibaba is optimism and faith in his idea. Jack Ma, now 50, confided that he leans heavily on the work of his company's young people: “I'm an optimist and I have faith in the future and in young people. 34 young people work in my company, if I don't know something I ask them".
2) You don't need degrees but experiences
Jack Ma is the classic example of the self-made man. Rejected several times at the University, he had to settle for smaller institutes and create a wealth of experience and self-taught skills. He taught himself English and also the programming language which led him in 1994 to create the first active commercial website in China. In his interview, Jack Ma confessed, when he has to analyze the resumes that arrive at Alibaba, that he discards profiles with many school experiences, preferring young people with life experiences.
3) Don't complain and move on
“My business was initially ignored by friends, family, banks, no one gave me credit. However, I knew that a virtual marketplace where anyone could sell their goods met a market need. I believed in it, and working day and night I managed to create it. In the first three years of the business, I didn't make a dollar. However, hundreds of people wrote me emails thanking me for what I was doing, some offered me dinner or a cigarette urging me to go ahead: this was enough to understand that I was following in the right direction and that sooner or later the money would arrive too".
4) Have the courage to take risks
The fourth piece of advice that the founder of Alibaba gives to young people is to have the courage to put their ideas into practice. Anyone who has an idea must try to make it real, must have the courage to take risks. Jack Ma confesses that he often meets young people with good ideas, many of whom, however, have the courage to take risks and get involved “unfortunately, most of them wear a uniform and go to the office with their heads bowed. Don't do it too, life rewards those who don't stop: that's all".
5) Don't be afraid of the internet
According to the founder of Alibaba, and it could not be otherwise, the internet is an opportunity and certainly not a danger for workers all over the world. The web doesn't eliminate jobs, it just needs more skills. “Technology – according to Jack Ma – offers enormous development opportunities and you have the opportunity to create business, thanks to the excellent infrastructures of your country. Every day 120 million people buy on Alibaba, in the next few years there will be billions of transactions on e-commerce platforms. You Koreans are creative and disciplined, come up with something, there are users”. Technology gives us the ability to respond to people's needs and to leverage the web to give people what they need.
6) Just start small
It doesn't take much to get started, just an idea created in your garage or in your bedroom in front of your computer. You don't have to go to Silicon Valley to realize a great idea, just the idea. “When I created the e-commerce site – says Jack Ma – nobody was selling anything. So with my group we started exchanging objects to create traffic, then advertisers arrived and to encourage them we bought what they offered. From the first exchanges, the infrastructure was born, and then the business took off. Silicon Valley was far away then and still is: Alibaba, however, is Made in China. You can think big even from the bedroom, and on the kitchen table, opportunities are everywhere”.
7) Every age has its goal
The founder of Alibaba argues that for every age it is important to have a goal and try to achieve it. “At twenty – advises Jack Ma – commit yourself to studying, at 25 you start working and make mistakes, at this age you can fall and get back up without consequences. If you choose a large company you will acquire the processes, if instead you opt for a small business you will learn the passion of doing many different activities in one day. From 30 to 40 focus on your profession, work on yourself. From 40 to 50 years don't go back, don't change direction, it's too late. Simply become the best at what you are already doing. From 50 to 60, invest in young people, nurture talent and transfer information. From the age of 60 onwards, the priority is your physical and mental well-being. Go to the sea!”
