Jack Ma

Their Story

Picture this: a young man pedals his bicycle through the streets of Hangzhou, chasing not money, not fame—just the chance to speak to foreigners for a few minutes. He wants to learn English so badly that he turns every tourist into a moving classroom. That young man is Jack Ma, and at this moment, his “great plan” looks almost laughable. Who would bet on a kid with no special connections, no fancy degree, and a habit of collecting rejection letters like souvenirs?

He opens exam results—failed. He tries again—failed again. Then come the jobs. Thirty times he hears “no.” Even a fast-food restaurant turns him away. Imagine standing outside a place like KFC while other people get hired, and you don’t. What would you do—hide, quit, or keep walking forward with your head up?

Jack chooses forward. He becomes an English teacher, standing in front of students with a voice full of energy and a heart full of stubborn hope. But hope alone doesn’t change the world—until one day in 1995, he steps onto American soil and meets something that feels like science fiction: the internet. He searches for China online and finds almost nothing. In that empty space, he sees a doorway.

He rushes home and builds a small online company called China Pages. It’s messy and hard. Later, the dot-com bubble bursts and dreams all over the world pop like balloons. But Jack doesn’t disappear. He pivots. He gathers a small team in his apartment—no skyscraper, no luxury—just belief. They name their idea Alibaba, like a magic password that opens doors.

Then the darkest chapter hits: 2001. Alibaba is nearly bankrupt. People eat instant noodles. Staff are laid off. The room feels heavy with fear. And yet Jack stands there, not pretending it’s easy. He reminds them, “Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” He asks them to endure the storm long enough to reach the light.

Years later, the little apartment dream becomes one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, worth hundreds of billions. And Jack, who once begged for opportunities, retires to teach again—starting mornings with tai chi, still practicing what he preaches.

So what can you learn? Failure isn’t a verdict—it’s training. Rejection isn’t the end—it’s direction. And if today is hard, and tomorrow is harder, keep going anyway. The sunshine might be closer than you think.

Advice for Students

“Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow harder, but keep going.” [Davos Speech]