Entrepreneur Whom I

Admire
ENT401: EXPLORING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF
ENTREPRENEURSHIP

By:
[COMPANY NAME] | [COMPANY ADDRESS]
Table of Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................................2

Key Challenges........................................................................................................3

Conclusion................................................................................................................4

References................................................................................................................5
Introduction

Jack Ma is a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist who is the founder and former CEO of the Alibaba
Group. Born from a poor family in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, Jack Ma strived to learn the English
language by waiting at his city’s famous hotel and offering its tourists or visitors tours of the city in
exchange for English lessons. Every day he would wake up early to go to the hotel and wait for visitors.
The nickname “Jack” was actually given by his pen pal whom he befriended. Even after learning English,
Ma still found it hard to get into college as he was weak in Math. He tried his best to get in the university
and only on the third time was he admitted. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English, Jack Ma
applied to 30 different jobs where he got rejected each time [ CITATION Wik21 \l 1033 ]. Eventually he
landed a job as an English teacher.
When Ma discovered the internet, he realized the great wonders that it can offer and with this, he founded
the China Yellow Pages [ CITATION Rai19 \l 1033 ] which later on failed. The failure of China Yellow
Pages led Jack Ma to work for China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation [ CITATION
Ste21 \l 1033 ]. Soon after, Ma began building websites for Chinese companies with the help of his
friends from the US and in 1999, Jack Ma, together with his colleagues, founded Alibaba.
Alibaba is a is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, internet,
and technology [ CITATION Wik211 \l 1033 ]. The company is a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace
meaning that a business (ex. Alibaba) makes a transaction with another business. A perfect example of
B2B are re-sellers making transactions with their suppliers. During the three years (3) since its launch,
Alibaba did not generate any income. Moreover, its greatest competitor, eBay was growing fast in China.
On the other hand, within the same three years since the founding of Alibaba, Jack Ma and his colleagues
founded and decided to launch Taobao Marketplace in May 2003 [ CITATION Ali21 \l 1033 ] which is a
Chinese shopping website. Unlike Alibaba, Taobao is a business with a business to consumer (B2C)
model which means that products are sold between businesses and the end-users.

Soon after, the Alibaba group launched Alipay in December 2004, Alimama in November 2007, Tmall
or Taobao Mall in April 2008, Juhuasuan and AliExpress in March and April 2010, respectively, also
during the same year, Alibaba launched the Mobile Taobao App. Many more platforms were produced
and launched by the Alibaba Group which help improve the global e-commerce.
In August 2005, the Alibaba group announced its strategic partnership with Yahoo for $1 billion allowing
Yahoo to have a 40% stake in the company [ CITATION Nik20 \l 1033 ].

In September 2014, Alibaba Group went public on the New York Stock Exchange wherein the company
was considered as the biggest US initial public offering (IPO) in history raising over $25 billion
[ CITATION Wik21 \l 1033 ]. Jack Ma continued to move forward acquiring companies in a different
industry. In 2016, Jack Ma bought the Château de Sours in Bordeaux, Chateau Guerry in Côtes de Bourg
and Château Perenne in Blaye, Côtes de Bordeaux [ CITATION Jan16 \l 1033 ].

During the celebration of Alibaba’s 20 th anniversary in September 2019, Jack Ma announced his stepping
down as the company’s chairman of the board passing the torch to Daniel Zhang.
Key Challenges

Among the many challenges that Jack Ma encountered, the most common is the constant rejection that he
received ever since he was a child:

 As previously stated, Jack Ma came from a poor family during which time the cultural revolution
is ongoing. Coming from a poor family meant that there were less resources for Jack Ma thrive
in. Jack Ma realized, at an early age, that it is through education where he can be successful. With
this in mind, Ma started to study English by waking up as early as 5 o’clock in the morning to go
to his city’s hotel and wait for tourists.
 Prior to attending college, Jack Ma was rejected for 2 times. Ma admitted, at the 2015 World
Economic Forum in Davos, that he even failed twice in his primary school tests and thrice for his
middle school tests [ CITATION MaJ15 \l 1033 ]. Ma believes that every failure is only just a
beginning of something. This thinking led him to continue to try and persevere.
 In addition to the prior bullet, Jack Ma was also rejected 30 during his job hunt. This number of
rejections can bring someone’s self-confidence down but for Jack Ma, it did not.
 Jack Ma’s idea of having an online marketplace did not easily come into fruition as he required
funding for the establishment of Alibaba. Ma travelled to the US to acquire funding at Silicon
Valley for the business however, his idea was rejected and criticized. He tried and tried again to
secure funding, fortunately, he was able to acquire a total of $25 million from Goldman Sachs
and Softbank [ CITATION Com17 \l 1033 ].
 During the launch of Alibaba in 1999, the Chinese economy was still not ready to support the e-
commerce industry. The industry was believed to be a threat to the traditional way of business of
the Chinese [ CITATION San17 \l 1033 ]. Many were not convinced of the capabilities of Alibaba
and businesses and government authorities were skeptical about the idea of an online
marketplace.
 Jack Ma also stated at the 2015 World Economic Forum that for three years since the launch of
Alibaba, the company was gained 0 (zero) profit but, in spite of this, Ma did not give up. He even
launched other platforms which helped small businesses sell their goods across the globe.
 Since Alibaba was not gaining any profit, Jack Ma decided to close its US office eventually
laying of all of its international staff [ CITATION Jil14 \l 1033 ].
 Jack Ma showed his fearlessness when he tried to fight with eBay. Meg Whitman, eBay’s CEO,
was confident that they are can control 85% of China’s market [ CITATION Jil14 \l 1033 ]. In
response, Jack Ma made promotions by offering free usages for sellers for the first three years
and publicity stunts by launching a huge army-themed stunt to win some free press for Taobao
[ CITATION Jil14 \l 1033 ]. He believed that the Taobao is better suited for the Chinese. Jack Ma’s
gimmicks proved effective in battling with its competitor.
 An internal struggle of Jack Ma’s company, Alibaba was when he advised to his employees that
promotion to higher ranks were limited in order to attract young, outside talent [ CITATION Com17
\l 1033 ]. Later on, he tried to correct this mistake by stressing the importance of his employees.
He noted that he should make a team have value, innovation, and vision [ CITATION Alp16 \l 1033
]
Conclusion

With the increasing cases of anti-Asian hate, I thought that it would be best to study and research for an
entrepreneur coming from an Asian country to acknowledge that even Asians can be successful. The story
of Jack Ma shows that perseverance, persistence, and patience can also make a person successful. Given
the many rejections that Jack Ma received over his lifetime, it did not stop him from believing that he will
receive “yes” for an answer. This is what I admire about him.
And just like Jack Ma, I have also received many rejections in life. Often times, I would give up and do
nothing on the rejections. Researching about Jack Ma’s life made me question the decisions that I’ve
made, the rejections that I have received, and the things that I should have done to achieve what I want.
Jack Ma’s openness to new ideas and his readiness in adapting new business models helped him become a
successful entrepreneur. Moreover, his patience and drive in getting the things the he wants contributed to
his success. In my life, just a single rejection meant that I should stop and take a different course of
action. Adopting Jack Ma’s story, I realized that maybe, I should keep on trying and not stop at the first
sight of rejection. If I get rejected, maybe I should try a different approach to achieve for what I want. I
guess, it is not so bad to think outside the box.
In addition, I also admire his willingness to experiment. As previously stated, Jack Ma is a graduate of
bachelor’s degree in English. He does not know anything about computers especially the internet but, his
determination to succeed and fearlessness led him to making risky decisions. A perfect example is the
launching of Taobao Marketplace. Jack Ma stood up to a giant by battling with its greatest competitor in
China, eBay.
Lastly, I admire Jack Ma when he shows the importance of his people – for business, the employees, the
ones who are building the company. He empowers and inspires his people. This is a prominent quality
that I should have – giving importance to my people, my family, and the quality that I should look for
once I start applying for jobs.
Jack Ma has contributed to society not just by allowing small businesses have a wider market but also by
contributing to the environment, education, and society through his foundation. With the ongoing
pandemic, Jack Ma, together with the Alibaba group, donated millions of testing kits, face masks, and
even medical equipment to various countries such as Iran, Italy, and Spain.
References
Alibaba Group, 2021. History and Milestones. [Online]
Available at: https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history?year=2003
[Accessed 23 March 2021].

Anson, J., 2016. Alibaba billionaire Jack Ma buys next Bordeaux château. [Online]
Available at: https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/jack-ma-buys-chateau-perenne-
305972/#e7B629prQDzEVRz2.99
[Accessed 23 March 2021].

Computing and Commerce Association (CCA), 2017. Jack Ma: A Story of Success Through Failure.
[Online]
Available at: https://www.ccamonash.com.au/articles/2018/1/2/jack-ma-a-story-of-success-through-
failure
[Accessed 23 March 2021].

Dayanidhi, S., 2017. How Jack Ma overcame his greatest failures to become the richest man in China.
[Online]
Available at: https://yourstory.com/2017/05/jack-ma-success-story-2
[Accessed 23 March 2021].

D'Onfro, J., 2014. The Remarkable Story Of How Alibaba Defeated eBay In China. [Online]
Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-alibaba-defeated-ebay-in-china-2014-4
[Accessed 23 March 2021].

Ma, J., 2015. 2015 World Economic Forum in Davos [Interview] 2015.

Mimaroglu, A., 2016. How Jack Ma Overcame His 7 Biggest Failures. [Online]
Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275969
[Accessed 23 March 2021].

Nikkei, 2020. In pictures: Jack Ma, Alibaba's rock star founder, bows out. [Online]
Available at: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/In-pictures-Jack-Ma-Alibaba-s-rock-star-
founder-bows-out
[Accessed 23 March 2021].

Popovic, S., 2021. Jack Ma: The man leading the Chinese e-commerce market. [Online]
Available at: https://www.hottopics.ht/3885/jack-ma-the-man-leading-the-chinese-e-commerce-
market/
[Accessed 23 March 2021].

Wikipedia, 2021. Alibaba Group. [Online]

Wikipedia, 2021. Jack Ma. [Online]