Opportunity lies in places where people complain, says Ma
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Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma / Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma has shared the secrets behind the success of the world’s biggest e-commerce company.
“The opportunity lies in places where people complain,” Ma said on Saturday on a TV program, “KBS global economy: The era for Asia has opened.”
“I know a lot of famous people ― Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jack Welch, Larry Page and Mark Zuckerburg,” he said. “The difference between those people and others is that the former are always optimistic for the future. They never complain. They always try to solve problems of the others.”
He said his success came from the same attitude.
“In 1994, many people in China wanted to sell things abroad,” he said. “But there’s no place. Small businesses didn’t have opportunities, so they complained, saying they don’t have a visa, money and relationship.”
He said this was when he got the idea of starting his e-commerce business. He believed the internet would be great for small businesses, but nobody believed it at the time.
He said his business was successful because no one believed it would be successful.
“If everybody believes, why the opportunity should be yours?” he said.
After figuring out the potential of e-commerce, he then trusted that the business would be successful one day.
“It’s not important whether your friends believe it or not, whether your parents believe it or not. You should believe it,” he said.
His business failed to make a profit for the first three years, but customers’ trust kept him going.
“I had received lots of emails of thanks from customers,” he said. “(Customers said) ‘If you keep helping us, one day you will be successful.’ And I believed this.”
In September 2014, Alibaba Group debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), raising $25 billion in the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history.
On the program, Ma also advised young entrepreneurs to work for others.
“Work very hard, either for the others or for yourself,” he said. “I chose to work for myself, but working for myself means working for society.”
“And if you want to work for yourself, think about the others and make sure you help them. Only when they are successful or happy, will you be successful and happy.”