Jack Ma is the founder of the e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. He, once a tour guide, a English teacher, and three-time entrance exam candidate, faced numerous struggles in his early life. Yet today, he is recognized as a multi-billionaire. 

Alibaba is worth more than Facebook, and processes goods more than eBay and Amazon combined! Today, the platform has over 1 billion active users,

Jack Ma faced many challenges to reach his current success. During his early years, Jack Ma failed his primary & middle school exams. Jack failed the entrance exams three times before eventually being accepted into Hangzhou Normal University. He even applied to Harvard University 10 times, and got rejected each time.

“When KFC opened in China, 24 people applied for a job. Twenty-three were accepted, and I was the only one rejected.” He also applied for a job in the police force along with four others, but was the only one turned down with the words, “No, you’re not good enough.”

As a successful entrepreneur, Jack Ma offers valuable advice for young people in his videos. He shares insights on how to transform your ideas into a vision and make them a reality. Let’s dig in

Why Thinking Big Matters More Than Technical Knowledge

Jack Ma says, “I know nothing about technoloy, I know that nothing about management but the only thing is that you don’t have to know a lot things you have to find the people who are smarter than you are, my first way is always find people who’s knowladge on computer is smarter than I am, accounting smarter, for so many years always try to find the poeple who are smarter than I am.”

Jack always focuses on finding people to work for him who have knowledge about computers and the internet and who are smarter than him. This has been Jack Ma’s practice for over a decade to look for people who are sharp, visionary, and better. He believes in being surrounded by people who can make decisions on their own. Jack also believes that if all the smart people you gather under one roof, they work together, it is a blessing and they all work to help your company grow.

Ma emphasizes the importance of survival of the fittest, noting that if you don’t survive today, you’re out—and having the right people in your company is essential for growth.

A leader must have a strong, clear vision. Inspired individuals can bring that vision to life more effectively, as a CEO cannot handle every task from product development to promotion alone. It’s essential to have different people performing specialized roles, which collectively drive the company’s growth.

By focusing on a grand vision rather than just the mechanics, Jack Ma transformed Alibaba from a simple idea into a global powerhouse. His story serves as a testament to the power of vision and resilience. Jack Ma also shares that for Alibaba’s first 2000 employees, he personally spoke to each one for one to two hours upon joining the company.

Jack Ma also says, “We know this is the future, and we can see it, though we’re not certain we’ll all reach it. But by working together, we can support each other and grow collectively.”