Jack Ma Interview

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Charlie Rose: - Is that Ma Yun became Jack Ma?

Jack Ma: - actually jack the name given by a lady. She said tourist she came here and she said came to Huangzhou we became a pen friends. Ma Yun is so difficult to pronounce. So she said do you have an English name? I said I don’t have. Can you give me English name? She said ok. She said my father called a Jack, my husband called a Jack and what you think about Jack? I said gooood))

Charlie Rose: - First visit to America in 1995?

Jack: - 1995 yeah. I came here for project helping local government building up high way.

Charlie Rose: - And you tried an internet?

Jack : I tried the internet in Seattle. In the building called USA bank and in that building my friend opened a small office only 10 percent bigger then this room and computer sitting there and he said jack this is an internet. I asked what is the internet and he said you can sear whatever you want. That time we used mosaic and it was very slow. I said I don’t use I I don’t want to type because computer is so expensive in china. If I destroy it I can not pay. He said just tosearch it. So I searched for first word beer. Because it was easy to spell. I see beers from Germany beers from USA beers from Japan, but there was not beers from China and okay I type the second word China. No date, nothing in 1995. So I talked to my friend why not make something about China? So we made a small very ugly looking page about China. It is something like I did translation on there and listed , it was so shocking we did it 9:40 I the morning and 12;30 I got a call from my friend he said jack you know you got five emails, I said what is the email and these other things see people so excited where are you, this was the first time I see Chinese website on that how we can do something together so I think this is something interesting.

Charlie rose. Why you call it Alibaba?

Jack: Alibaba, well when we started I think internet is the global we should have a name global, and the name which interesting like yahoo, so I think about this many days so I think Alibaba is good name. I happened being to San Francisco that days and I had a lunch and waiter come, I asked do you know about Alibaba, she said yes,I asked what is Alibaba, she said OPEN SESAME, I said good, so I asked from the street from many people, they all know about Alibaba, and I think this is good name.

Charlie Rose: you have said before that you have created Alibaba you had to creat a trust? Because people in China you used face to face. How did you creat the trust?

Jack: I think, Alibaba business based on internet, I don’t know you you don’t know me, so how can do things online unless you trust. For e-commerce the most important thing is trust, I think, when I was Usa for raising money talked to venture capitals, a lot of people say, oh Jack no no no , China do the business bit the guanshi, how can do business on internet and I know the result of trust the system, credit system its impossible to do business so we every day in past 14 years we tried to build a trust system. So you know I am so proud today, people in the world don’t trust each other, government , people, media and everybody got this guys cheating, but because of e-commerce we finish 60 million transactions everyday. People don’t know each other, I don’t know you I sent a product to you, you don’t know me and you wide money to me. This is a trust. And now at least 60 million trust happening everyday.

Charlie Rose. You have created an as croe account at the beginning and you keep the money until they got a product and then release the money.

Jack: that is true we running as core services Alipay, this was the best idea, cause for first three years Alibaba was just like a market place for information, I want to have and you want and we talk for a long time but don’t do any business, no payment, I talked to the banks , no banks wanna do it, they said ooh these things never work, so I don’t know what to do, because if I start to lunch a payment system it is against financial legal looks, because you have to have license but if I don’t do it e-commerce go nowhere. So then I went to Davos, I listened a leaderships discussion, leadership is about responsibility, and after listening I called to my friends DO IT NOW, immediately, if something wrong, government not happy about that if one body has to go to the prison, Jack might go to the prison, because it is so important for China, for gthe world, to build a trust system. And if you do not do it, do not do it properly stealing money, no traffic on I said you did prison it. But some people dont like it, they think it is stupid Idea as long as people use it, now we have 800 million people using this Alipay.

Charlie Rose: You have never got money from Chinese government?

Jack: no, I want it beginning later I don’t want it, because if the company always thinking about the money picking money from all after the government pockets, that companies rubbish, think about the how to make money from the customers and market and then help customers succeed it was our philosophy.

Charlie Rose: no money from Chinese banks?

Jack: no, at that time I want, but now they wanna give me but I don’t want.

Charlie Rose: your relationships with the government? What is your relationship? I mean if they didn’t want hear something that you have existed in an environment that is not they have restricted competition for you and that is the pretty thing to do or privet company.

Jack Ma: I think the relationship with the government for us it is a very interesting, for the first five years because I was working as a part time job for the government organization of ministry foreign trade, 1997 for 14 month and I learned that you should never rely government organizations to do e-commerce and I started business and I told my team in love with the government but don’t marry them, respect them, and a lot of people said why you know government officers taking to the censorship and this that and worry about. I think it is the opportunity; it is the responsibility, talking to them, tell them how internet can help.

Charlie Rose: so you tell them we create jobs?

Jack Ma: oh yeah, I think a lot of people debate and fight against them and at the first 12 years anybody come to my office I sit down, talking to them, how we can help economy,