Meet man, rejected by 30 companies, built Rs 2267797000000 company, but disappeared after one meeting, he is…, his business is…

Every morning, he used to cycle 70 miles to the Shangri-La Hotel, where he offered free city tours to foreign tourists just to learn English. For nine years, he did this tirelessly to master the language.

He is Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba. He was rejected over 30 times, including a travel guide job. Very few people might have faced these many rejections as even KFC hired 23 out of 24 applicants but rejected him. His only job acceptance was as an English teacher.

Jack Ma Journey

In 1995, during a trip to the U.S., Jack saw the internet for the first time. He noticed people placing orders online but realized there were no Chinese products listed. After returning to China, he decided to start an online business. Without money or technical knowledge, he took help from friends and launched the company ‘Haibo Translation Agency’ but it failed. He also founded ‘China Pages’ which was another failed attempt.

Founding Alibaba

Despite facing financial challenges and lack of investor interest, Jack believed in his strategy. He focused on customers first, employees second, and investors very last. He believed that  if customers are satisfied it will naturally attract business and investments. He changed China’s online shopping and digital payment landscape. In 2000, Japan’s SoftBank, led by Masayoshi Son, invested $20 million in Alibaba which was a turning point for the company.

His idea was ridiculed initially but now it has become a global enterprise with over 124,320 employees. Alibaba became Asia’s first company to surpass a $500 billion valuation in 2022. Jack Ma, once called ‘unworthy’, now has a personal net worth of $26.1 billion.

Jack Ma Disappeared

He once criticized China’s financial system and government interference in business. As an authoritarian government Jack’s statements didn’t go well with Chinese authorities. On October 24, 2020, during a meeting with politicians and business leaders, he openly criticized Chinese banks. According to The Wall Street Journal, this upset President Xi Jinping, led to Jack’s downfall.

After the meeting, Jack disappeared from the public eye. The Chinese government halted Ant Group’s $37 billion IPO and launched an investigation into Alibaba, wiping over $100 billion from the company’s market cap. 

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