#StartupNews Alibaba: how to become the retail legend Co | Idea factory
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Alibaba: how to become the retail legend
Country: China
Valuation: $640 billion
Business model: marketplace
Its founder — Jack Ma came a long way to build such an enormous corporation. In the beginning he couldn’t even enter a university. Now he is the richest person in Asia and his company brings billions of dollars every year. Regardless of numerous fails, sometimes Jack was very lucky. Besides, largely his success was predicated on Ma’s ability to meet the right people.
Background
Originally, Jack Ma wanted to become a teacher. However, he gained only 1 point out of 120 when passing a maths exam. The third time was the charm, though: Ma entered the university. He was fond of teaching and became one of the best students.
In order to earn some cash, Ma tried to apply for 30 different jobs. However, he was refused even by KFC. Jack considered his “unattractive appearance”and short height the cause of his fails.
Finally, Jack rose to the occasion and established a translation agency. Thanks to his English knowledge, Ma set off to the USA. While there, he first got acquainted with the Internet and was amazed.
For the next several years, Jack worked in the Ministry of International Trade. While working, he realized in China a variety of goods was produced at a substantially lower cost than abroad. So Jack decided to create an Internet platform for small and middle trading.
At first, Alibaba didn’t raise enough investments and took losses. Later, Goldman Sachs and SoftBank invested $25 million in the startup. In spite of the fundings, the business didn’t work like a dream. Jack had to test the website by himself and change the business model. Then, Alibaba did the trick outpacing the major competitor — EBay.
Jackpot
Ultimately, Alibaba group has conquered the world market. In 2014, the company entered New York’s stock exchange. Alibaba became the largest IPO ever having raised $25 billion. In October 2020, its stock price exceeded $300.
In 2016, the company became the world biggest retailer in terms of GMV (gross merchandise value). Its current capitalization is $686 billion, whereas Ebay’s — $31 billion.
Exit
At some point Jack Ma fully relished its celebrity status and overwhelming success. Therefore, in 2019, he decided to quit the post of CEO. By that time, he had already established charity funds to focus on ecology help.
Nowadays
Alibaba’s business overstepped the limits of online trading a long ago. Online education, mobile apps, trip booking — it’s not even a complete list of the company’s activities. Alibaba is consistently building a single ecosystem that would combine all the business industries.
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