He’s now the co-founder of a billion dollar e-commerce business and one of the richest men in the world, but at one point during his life Jack Ma couldn’t even get a job with KFC.
Jack Ma believes that we should get used to rejection. It’s part of the game. The business entrepreneur and investor failed college entrance exams three times over. When he was desperate for a job, not even the fast food chains would hire him.
“I applied for jobs 30 times and got rejected. I went for police and they said “no you’re not good”. I went to even KFC. When KFC came to China, 24 people went for the job, 23 people were accepted. I was the only one guy [that didn’t get the job]. We went for police. Four people were accepted, I was the only guy that didn’t received [the job]. I applied for Harvard, 10 times rejected…I told myself someday I’ll go teach there.”
But, it was all part of the universal plan. The doors continued to close until he went to Hangzhou Normal University to study English. Eventually, he would land a gig as an English teacher.
Never settling, Jack Ma, born Ma Yun, obtained his business degree at Cheung Kong, after creating his first online venture and the first Internet company in China. In 1999, the venture ultimately led to the launch of the successful China-based company Alibaba, an online consortium that connects businesses with global manufacturers.
In 2014, Alibaba made the major milestone of becoming the world’s biggest IPO. Now, the e-commerce company has surpassed Walmart in sales.
Jack Ma has become a legendary name for business success and has even extended his ventures into Hollywood. He no longer needs a job because he’s a billionaire, but he chooses to work by doing philanthropy and speaking engagements worldwide.
He wants to encourage people to stay hopeful when pursuing big goals that require huge risks.
“I’m worried about today a lot of young people lose hope, lose vision,” he said at the World Economic Forum in 2015. “We also had the same period. It’s not a good feeling being rejected by so many people. We were also depressed. But, later we found that the world has a lot of opportunity. It’s how you see the world.”
“Believe in what you’re doing. Love it, whether people like it, don’t like it,” he continued. “I never knew I would be here…but today I made it. I told the people in my apartment 18 years ago, we have to work hard…Just work as a team.”
