Jack Ma Davos 2015 interviewC: Wellcome Jack MaM: thank youC: We’ve all become very cognitive Jack and his story and when Alibaba went public with the largest IPO in history, we knew a lot more about him, so I want to talk about his personal story, I want to talk about how many times he tried and failed, and what kept him going, I want to talk about where he is today and how he got here and where he is going and how expects to get there and if he gets there what will it all mean for him and for the people that he wants to inspire, so, begin with this question, though, Jack, why are you back at Davos.M: It’s a long break for seven years, I think my last time trip here was 2008, but I was coming for your to find one for young global leader for tomorrow, and I think remember I never heard about a Davos when I came, but when I came out I and a Switzerland, so many young people demonstrate was such a horrible scene that I was a net and ask them who wanted to do it, they say NT globalization and as why grandmas this is a great thing, why people and you know don’t like it, and then we come all the way for two hours here, there’s some Russian gone there’s a people checking out the all go is that there’s follower zap reason, we’re going to go into that, but when I joined the fun at the young global leader, I was thrilled by so many ideas for the first of three four years, I’ve learned what does the globalization mean, what is the copper to citizenship mean, what about social responsibility mean, how all these new ideas and see so many great leaders talking about leadership and that benefit a lot and a year 2008, and 2009 when the financial crisis came, I think about it go back to work because we can never win the world by talking, so go back to spend seven years, now I come back, I think it’s time to do something return, so I learned so much, let’s talk about years ago so why I should not talking to young global leader of today shelling with them how we gone.C: Through that was the thing, let’s start with where you are today just how big is all about, how many people come every day, I mean people come in a week how fast is it growing.M: yeah, we have for over a hundred million buyers visiting our site shop in our site our everyday, and we create a hundred million and everything we created 14 million jobs for china directly and indirectly, and we grow from 18 people to 30000 people, meeting people in my apartment to now, we have a full big campers compared to 15 years ago, we were big but compared to 15 years later with to a baby.C: And a big will you be 15 years from them.M: I think 15 years ago, I told my team that 15 years in the past 15 years we go from nothing to this size, and 15 years later I wanted people see know about alibaba no top up, because it’s already everywhere, I want 15 years ago when we talk about what is e-commerce why small business can using this e-commerce this internet can do business cross the nation, and I hope 15 years later people forget about e-commerce, because they think it’s mega elect ricity nobody think is a high-tech today, now this is something that I don’t want 15 years later we still walk on the straight talking about why and how e-commerce can help people.C: Talk about the IPO you did it exceed your expectationsM: well, it’s a p retty small IPO 250.C: yeah, two largest not to do in the history, number two was Chinese bank.M: Thank you, I remember your tooth and while we went to raise some five minutes remaining venture capitalist daughters in the USA and got reject, and I say we come back raising some alittle bit more, but I think it you know what we think more about is for 225 billion dollars how we can spend the money efficiently, because this is not the money visit the trust from the world, the trust from those people they want you to better jobs to help more people, they want have a good return. So I think give me more pressure because when our market cap is bigger than IBM or someday were bigger than Walmart, we are one of the top 10 15 largest market cap company in the world, I told my team and myself is that ture, we’re not that good because years ago people say a lot about the models terrible dose not make money have this and that all the big bad things, because emma’s battery-based better, google is better and there’s no such model like alibaba in the USA, so I told myself and people, we will better than people thought, but today when we got that big size I said no, we’re not that good as people thought, we were just a company 15 years old, average age is twenty-seven twenty-eight year, so young people were doing something that human being have never tried.C: so. What I want to talk about the future, let me take you back to谈未来（3:32）Compared to 15 years ago, we are big; but compared to 15 years later, we are still a baby. I think 15 years ago, I told my team that ... in the past 15 years, we grew from nothing to this size, and 15 years later, I want people see no about Alibaba, no Taobao, because it is already everywhere.15 years ago, when we talked about what is e-commerce, why small businesses can [use] this e-commerce and this Internet and do business across the nation; and I hope 15 years later, people forget about e-commerce, because they think it is like electricity – nobody think it is a high-tech today. I don't want 15 years later, we still walk on the street, talking about why and how e-commerce can help people.2. 谈遭拒（8:25）I think we have to get used to it. We are not that good; even today, we are still having a lot of people [who] reject us.3. 谈学英语（9:51）I don't know why at 12 or 13 years old, or that time, I suddenly fell love into that language, English. And there's no place where you can learn English at that time; there's no book, English books. So I went to the Hangzhou Hotel, now called the Hangzhou Shangri-la Hotel, because that was the hotel ... [that] can receive the foreign visitors. So every morning – for 9 years – I showed them around as a free guide, and they taught me English. And I think that changed me. I am 100% made in China; I never got one day's training outside China...So I think that was the 9 years –these Western tourists opened my mind, because everything they told me was so different from the things I learnt from the schools, and from my parents. So now I have had a habit –whatever I see [and] whatever I read, I use my mind [to] think about for 2 minutes.4. 谈资金（18:26）(I have never got money from the Chinese government.) I wanted it in the beginning, but later I don't want it, because I think that if the company [is] always thinking about picking money off the government's pocket, that company is a rubbish. Think about how can you make money from the customers and the market, and then help the customers succeed. That's our philosophy. (I think the relationship with the government for us is very interesting...I learned that you should never rely on government organisation[s] to do e-commerce. And I started the business, [and] I told the people in [my] team that "being in love with the government; don't marry them; respect them.")5. 谈一切皆有可能（25:11）In the beginning, I thought... when I was young, I said everything is possible. Now I know not everything is possible. You have to think about ...you have to consider about the others... you have to consider about the customers, the society, your employees, the share holders... there are so many things...I think, if you continue to work hard, there's possibility. If you don't do it, nothing's possible; if you try to do it, at least you have the hope.6. 谈阿甘（33:16）I learnt so much about the Hollywood movies, especially the Forrest Gump. (I like Forrest Gump because he is) simple, [and] never gives up. People think he is dump, but he knows what he is doing...This is the guy we should learn from. Believe what you're doing, love it – whether people like it or don't like it; be simple. And I like the word, "Life is like a box of chocolate – you never know what you are going to get." I told my people in my department 15 years ago, "guys, we have to work hard, not for ourselves. If we can be successful, 80 per cent of the young people in China can be successful. We don't have the rich father, [or] powerful uncle. We don't get one dollar from banks, [or] one cent from [the] government. Just work as a team."7. 谈希望（34:49）I worry about that today, a lot of young people lose hope, lose vision and start to complain. We also ha[d] the same period because it is not a good feeling to be rejected by so many people; we were also depressed. But later we found that the world has a lot of opportunities – (it all depends on) how you see the world, [and how] you catch the opportunity.8. 谈英雄（35:40）Movie probably is the best product that can help Chinese young people to understand...because one thing I told the Chinese people...my friends, [is that] in an American movie, all the heroes –at the beginning, they looked like the bad guy. [But when] terrible things [were] coming, they became the hero and finally they all survived. In Chin[ese movies]... all the heroes died. So because only dead people became the hero, nobody wants to be a hero. (So I want to change the Chinese definition about the hero.) I want to say that today, we have so many heroes LIVE in this world.9. 谈太极（36:52）I love tai'chi. Tai'chi is a philosophy about the "yin" and the "yang". Tai'chi is about how you balance. Like competition...people say when I compete[d] with eBay "you hate eBay". [And I said] "no, no, no, I don't hate eBay. It is a great company, you know, they come, I go." Tai'chi is about that you fight here, I go over there; they put on the top, I go the down. Right so? It is about BALANCE! You are heavy and I am small, you know, when I am small, I can jump; and when you are heavy, you can't jump. Tai'chi is about philosophy. I use the Tai'chi philosophy in the business –Calm down; there's always a way out. And keep yourself balanced... Because business is a competition, [and] competition is a fun. Business is not like a battlefield that you die and I win –even if you die, I may not win. It's about fun. So Tai'chi gave me a lot of inspiration.10. 谈改变（38:24）First, I think many years ago, I want to change the world. [But] now I think, before I change the world, we change ourselves. Chang[ing] ourselves is more important and easier than chang[ing] the world. And second, I want to improve the world. My job is to make sure that my team is happy. Because [if] my team is happy, they can make my customer[s] happy; Our customers are all small businesses; when they are happy, we are happy.11. 谈女性（38:56）About women...one of the secret thoughts about Alibaba's success is that we have a lot of women. Because in this world... if you want to win in the 21st Century, you have to make other people powerful, empower others, make sure that the other people are better than you are, and then you will be successful. So I found that women...they think about the others more than they think about themselves. Women think about the kids, husband, parents much more than the men. And they use the friendliness.12. 谈中国经济放缓（40:45）I think slowing down is much better than keeping on that 9 per cent. China today is the second largest economy in the world. It's impossible to keep 9 per cent of the growth. If China still keeps the 9 per cent of the growth of the economy, there must be something wrong. You'll never see the blue sky. You'll never see the quality. China should pay attention to the quality of the economy. I think...just like [that] a human grows – this body can never grow, grow, grow...[at a] certain time, the growth of the body will slow [down]. You should grow your mind, grow your culture, grow your value, grow your wisdom. I think China is moving to that direction.13. 谈首富（42:00）I was really not happy in the past 3 months when people say Jack Ma is the richest people of China. 15 years ago, at my apartment, my wife...at that time, one of the 18 founders...I asked her: "Do you want your husband to be a rich person ..." I said not a rich person in China, [or] a rich person in Hangzhou. "or do you want your husband to be a respected person?" She said: "Of course, respected!" Because she never believed, and I never believed, that we would be rich people. We just wanted to survive. I believe when you have 1 million dollars, that's your money. When you have 20 million dollars, you start to have problem[s]; you [start to] worry about inflation, worry [about] which stock to buy –the headache[s] come. When you have 1 billion dollars, that's not your money – that's the trust [the] society give[s] on you. They believe you can manage the money, use the money better than the government, and the others. So I think today, I have the resources [to] do more things. With the money we have, with the influence we have, we should spend more time on the young people. And I would say, some day I will go back to teach, go back to school, spend time with the young people, and share with them what I've done. So the money is not mine; I just happily have the resources. And I want to do a better job. (Like Forrest Gump, we never give up, [and] we keep on fight[ing]. We keep changing ourselves; we don't complain. Whether you are successful or not successful – when [you] finish the job, when [you] make a mistake or if [you] fail, if [you] always complain the others, [you] will never come back. If [you] only check yourself – well, something is wrong with here, [and] something is wrong with there – [you] have a hope.。
