If others quit when they failed — Jack Ma did the opposite.
This little man from Hangzhou was not born rich. In fact, his life was full of rejection.
He once applied for a job at KFC. Out of 24 people who came for an interview, 23 were accepted — he was the only one rejected.
He applied to Harvard Business School, but was rejected 10 times.
I can't even imagine becoming a police officer.
Every time he tries, people say he's not good enough.
“You are too small.”
"You're not good at business."
"The Internet will not succeed in China."
But Jack Ma doesn't care.
He knows that when people don't understand your ideas — it doesn't mean you're wrong.
They just haven't seen what you see.
One night, he gathered 17 friends at his apartment.
He told me about his dream — to build an internet platform to help businesses in China.
Most of them don't even understand what the internet is. But they believe in Jack.
They raised money — $60,000.
That was Alibaba's starting point.
The first three years?
Immediately no profit.
They sleep in the office, eat whatever is available, work 16 hours a day.
Jack is trying to find investors in Silicon Valley.
He met with 30 venture capital firms. They all rejected him.
They said:
“The internet is not suitable in China.”
"You don't look like a tech CEO."
But Jack continued anyway.
Until Goldman Sachs finally invested $5 million.
Not because they believe in e-commerce. But because they believe in Jack Ma.
In 2003, eBay entered China with a big budget.
Everyone said Alibaba would lose.
Jack wasn't afraid — he launched Taobao, with one big advantage:
Free.
There is no listing fee.
People laugh — "How can you make money if everything is free?"
Jack simply replied:
“Build users first. Money will come later.”
And he was right.
Within two years, Taobao beat eBay.
eBay finally left China in 2006.
Jack continues to challenge the norm.
He launched Alipay in 2007 — an online payment system.
Many say Chinese people won't trust online payments.
Today, Alipay processes over $17 trillion per year.
In 2014, Alibaba was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The largest IPO in history.
The company that started with $60,000 is now worth $230 billion.
Now, Alibaba has over 1 billion users, 250,000 employees, and over $1 trillion in transactions per year.
Jack Ma is not a tech genius.
He's just someone who never gives up when rejected.
He understands something that many people don't realize:
“Rejection is not the end — sometimes it's just a postponement.”
If everyone says you can't — great.
At least, you know they won't steal your idea.
So ask yourself:
Jack Ma was rejected by KFC, Harvard, and 30 investors.
But he continued.
He sleeps in the office. He works day and night.
And finally, he proved the world wrong.
Because he knows — “When everyone says you can't, that's a sign you're doing something big.”
The moral:
Don't stop just because others don't believe you.
Keep building. Keep proving.
Because one day,
Those who reject you will watch your success from afar.
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