1. Jack Ma – Billionaire CEO of Alibaba
Born in China in 1964
Wanted to learn English
Worked as a hotel guide for free to practice
Earned a degree to teach English
Founded China Yellowpages in 1995 (web-based)
One of China’s first internet companies
It failed
Headed a Chinese government-based technology company
Learned more about web-based business ventures

2. The Alibaba Story Founded Alibaba in 1998
First electronic marketplace in China
Like Amazon, but Business to Business
Started with 18 friends
Convinced them to give him $60,000 to start it up
Was inspired by the film “Forrest Gump”
Watches the movie whenever he feels frustrated
Initially felt that small businesses needed an online place to trade, so he created the service

3. Failures and Fun Facts
He applied for a job at KFC and didn’t get hired
Failed his college entrance exam twice before he passed
He’s only five feet tall!
Had to create “variable interest equity” in order to do the Alibaba IPO
Ensures that Chinese companies are wholly-owned by Chinese interests
Investors won’t actually “own” Alibaba
They are investing in a company offshoot in the Cayman Islands
This has proven problematic for investors – company has lost half its value in one year