Date of birth: 1964 10 month
Native place: Hangzhou, China.
Position: Chairman and CEO of the Board of Directors
Graduate school: Foreign Languages Department of Hangzhou Normal University
In the grandiose Internet world of China, Ma Yun is an anomaly. He seems to be the antonym of CEO of all internet companies: he doesn't know computers, he doesn't know management, he doesn't know advertising, and companies are not allowed to advertise. Not only will he not recruit people with high salaries, but he will also reduce the wages of those who come in. He said, "Internet companies will not have a good life, but there will be hope for China's new economy. Now it is the person who makes tools. " He felt stupid and "as simple as Forrest Gump". However, it was for this company, Masayoshi Son of Softbank, that he decided to invest several hundred million yuan in six minutes. It is called the fourth Internet mode after Yahoo, Amazon and Yi Bei by the international media. Because all Internet companies in China are copies of some American model, only it is an exception. Ma Yun blew a fresh wind to China Internet companies.
A simple-minded child
Ma Yun has been a silly child since he was a child. When I was a child, I loved to fight and fought countless times. "Not once for myself, but for friends." Loyalty is the most loyal. He was given 13 injections and was punished. Forced to transfer to Hangzhou No.8 Middle School. Due to poor family circumstances and great family pressure, my father has a bad temper. Ma Yun grew up under his father's fist, but he couldn't stay at home, but he especially loved making friends.
He said, "I'm stupid, but I'm actually stupid." My brain is so small that I can only think about problems one by one. You ask three questions, I can't digest them. " Since childhood, Ma Yun did not do well in his homework, and he passed the math exam 1. Only English is particularly good, and the reason turns out to be: "When my father scolds me, I answer back in English. He doesn't understand. He enjoys it. When he was at school, the more he learned, the more excited he became. " From the age of 13, Ma Yun rode his bicycle all over Hangzhou with foreigners.
Since childhood, Ma Yun has not only never been to a first-class university, but even primary and secondary schools are third-and fourth-rate. I took the junior high school exam twice. Math 3 1. Mathematics for the college entrance examination 2 1. After failing in the college entrance examination, Ma Yun, who was weak, began to step on a tricycle.
Until one day I found a book in Jinhua Railway Station, Life by Lu Yao, which changed the silly child: "I want to go to college."
1984, Ma Yun was admitted to the Foreign Languages Department of Hangzhou Normal University several times-it was a junior college score, 5 points short of the undergraduate course, but the undergraduate course was not full, so Ma Yun was lucky to be admitted to the undergraduate course.
When I arrived at the university, I was always in the top five in my class because of my excellent English. It seems that nothing happened. Ma Yun became the president of the Student Union and made many friends.
After graduating from college, Ma Yun taught English at Hangzhou Institute of Electronic Technology. 199 1 year, Ma Yun and HOPE friends founded Haibo translation agency. As a result, the income in the first month was 700, and the rent was 2000.
When everyone was shaken, Ma Yun went to Yiwu carrying a big sack, selling small gifts, flowers, books, clothes and flashcards. "Well, see that big pottery dog? I sold it that year. " When the author interviewed Ma Yun, he pointed to the gadget on the bar and said so.
In two years, Ma Yun did this stupid thing. He not only supported translation agency, organized the first English corner in Hangzhou, but also was the teacher with the most courses in the hospital. Today, Haibo is the largest translation company in Hangzhou. "I thought there would be demand and it should be successful."
1995 Ma Yun is 30 years old. He is already one of the top ten outstanding young teachers in Connecticut, and the principal promised him the position of director of foreign affairs office. Strangely, what Ma Yun thinks in his mind is "Have I been teaching students to write all my life"? Not right away.
The first internet venture
1995 In April, Ma Yun established China Yellow Pages Internet Company, and the Internet was officially opened in Shanghai in July. Yellow Pages became one of the earliest Internet companies in China. This company specializes in making home pages for enterprises, with 2,000 words, one color photo in Chinese and English, and 20,000 RMB. In the third year, Ma Yun made a profit of RMB 5 million. 1997 At the invitation of MOFTEC, Ma Yun went north with his entrepreneurial team and founded the website of MOFTEC of China International Electronic Commerce Center of MOFTEC. Ma Yun said: "Before that, I was just a small businessman in Hangzhou. Work for the country, know the future development direction of the country, and learn to think from a macro perspective. I am no longer a frog in the well. " In Beijing, Ma Yun also participated in the development of online market China market. 1998 At last, Ma Yun decided to leave the Ministry of Economic Relations and Trade because a huge dream was born.
1In February, 1999, Jack Ma, an unemployed person, was invited to attend the Asian Electronic Commerce Conference held in Singapore. 80% of the people attending the meeting are Europeans and Americans, and they are also talking about European and American-style e-commerce. Ma Yun couldn't help but stand up and talk for an hour: "Asian e-commerce has entered a misunderstanding. Asia is Asia and America is America. Now e-commerce is all American, and Asia should have its own unique model. "
What pattern is that? Ma Yun didn't say, because that's what he wanted to do. Unlike all Internet elites, Ma Yun has never lived among the top people since he was a child. He lives among ordinary people, so he decided not to do the business of 15% large enterprises, but only 85% small and medium-sized enterprises, unlike all e-commerce companies now. In Ma Yun's words: "Just catch shrimp". Quite simply, large enterprises have their own special information channels, huge advertising fees, and small enterprises have nothing. They are the people who need the internet most.
"If enterprises are divided into the rich and the poor, then the Internet is the world of the poor. Because how many pages large enterprises and small enterprises publish on the Internet is a price. " Ma Yun said, "And I just want to lead the poor to revolution." Ma Yun grew up in Zhejiang, where private small and medium-sized enterprises are developed. He rolled over from the lowest market, knowing the plight of small and medium-sized enterprises, being squeezed and controlled. "For example, the purchase price of a pen in the market is 15 dollars, and Wal-Mart offers 8 dollars, but the supplier wants to place an order of100000 dollars, but if Wal-Mart cancels the order the next year, the supplier will be finished. Through the internet, this small supplier can find customers on a global scale. "
Dreams and pursuits
What Ma Yun wants to do is to provide such a world and collect the import and export information of small and medium-sized enterprises around the world. "Small businesses are like stones on the beach, but they can all be stuck together through the Internet. Stones stuck together with soil and concrete are powerful. Can compete with big stones. The characteristic of the Internet economy is that it is hard and slow. "
"I want to be the savior of countless small and medium-sized enterprises." Ma Yun's more realistic consideration is that "Asia is an export-oriented economy and the world's largest export supply base. Small and medium-sized suppliers are dense, and many small exporters are controlled by big trading companies because of poor channels. As long as these small companies are online in Alibaba, they can be brought to the United States and Europe. "
"In today's economic circles, big companies are whales and turtles, and big companies make a living by eating shrimp. Small shrimps live on the leftovers of big whales and depend on each other. The world of Internet is a personalized and independent world. Small enterprises form an independent world through the Internet, and their products are more colorful. This is the real revolution of the Internet. "
To achieve this goal, Ma Yun's Alibaba website must be global, otherwise Alibaba will become a seller without buyers if it is only domestic. And Alibaba must quickly cover the whole world, otherwise it will lose its meaning if it loses its first place. Alibaba can only become a global website for China people. Ma Yun has no retreat.
Ma Yun believes that all e-commerce at present is based on the electricity of large enterprises, and the unique e-commerce in Asia is not BTOB(BUSINESST0BUSINESS) but Businessman. This is a primitive Asian model. In Alibaba, it is free to publish information for small and medium-sized enterprises, "and it will be free forever". Ma Yun seems to have returned to his childhood loyalty.
"You are not a businessman."
"Yes, I'm not a businessman, I'm an entrepreneur." Ma Yun said.
Ma Yun is excited about his dream. On March 1999 and 10, Alibaba started a business in Ma Yun's home. The editor-in-chief of the Asian Wall Street Journal had been to Alibaba. "I work day and night, and there is a sleeping bag on the ground at the end. Whoever is tired will get in and sleep for a while. " He laughed and said, "Alibaba is the Ali mother of e-commerce in China".
The reason for choosing Hangzhou is simple, because IT is far away from IT centers such as Beijing and Shenzhen, and human resources are relatively cheap. TONNY, an early Hong Kong IT expert, wanted to join Alibaba. Ma Yun said, "500 yuan every month." Tony said, "I don't even have enough money to call my girlfriend in Canada."
Ma Yun turned and left. Tony said after chatting with several colleagues in Alibaba: "I'd better do it here." Interestingly, Cai Chongxin, the current COO, is the vice president of AB Company in Sweden and holds a doctorate in economics and law from Yale University. AB Company decided to invest in Alibaba after a business investigation. It is really "losing my wife and losing my soldiers", but it is also a kind of enjoyment.
After refusing 38 venture capital. Ma Yun accepted a $5 million investment from an investment group headed by Goldman Sachs.
A useful expert
1999 10 One day in June, Ma Yun was arranged to meet with Sun Zhengyi, the largest shareholder of Yahoo and the boss of Softbank, and was called the network weather vane. Because the financing has just been completed, Ma Yun has no plans to refinance.
Push the door and go in. Ma Yun thought it was a one-on-one meeting, but a room full of people, including Morgan Stanley's people. Originally scheduled for 1 hour, Ma Yungang talked about his company's goals for 6 minutes. Masayoshi son came from the other end of the office. "I have decided to invest in your company."
Ma Yun said: "Sun Zhengyi is a very wise man. He has a dull expression and speaks strange English, with little superfluous words. Like a character in the martial arts. In these six minutes, we all know what kind of person each other is. First, both of them are quick fixes. Second, they are all people who want to do great things; Third, they are all people who can make their own ideas. "
Sun Zhengyi's experience is very tortuous. When he was a child, he used to find garbage from the trash can to raise pigs for a living, but his father encouraged him from an early age that "you are a genius". Sun Zhengyi climbed out from the bottom of society. He had many wild dreams since he was a child, but they all came true. He said, "A dream and unfounded confidence. Everything starts here. "
On February 8, 65438+ year, Ma Yun once again sat opposite Sun Zhengyi. This time, neither side brought a lawyer, and they all went to the meeting alone. The whole process takes less than 3 minutes. Ma Yun received an investment of $35 million from Masayoshi Son.
Ma later learned that Softbank accepts investment applications from 700 companies every year, and only invests in 70 of them, while Masayoshi Son only talks with one of them.
A few days later, before signing the contract. Surprisingly-Ma Yun went back on his word. What is even more surprising is that Ma Yun thinks not too much money, but too much. This is what makes people laugh and cry: for the same investment ratio, Ma Yun wants 20 million dollars instead of 35 million dollars. "There is too much money, I don't want it."
Ma Yun believes: "Just need enough money, too much money is a bad thing." Son's assistant jumped up at once, which was incredible. Son has too much money. "Not at all!" The negotiations reached a deadlock, but Ma Yun still insisted on his own idea-"as long as 20 million".
In front of Masayoshi Son's angry assistant, Ma Yun sent an email to Masayoshi Son. He said, "... I hope to explore the Internet with Mr. Sun Zhengyi ... If there is no fate, we are still good friends. Five minutes later, Masayoshi Son replied, "Thank you for giving me a business opportunity. We will definitely make Alibaba famous in the world and turn it into a website like Yahoo. "
Why don't you want the money you got? Ma Yun said: "Yes, I am gambling, but I only bet on what I am sure of. Although I used to manage a team of no more than 60 people with a maximum of $2 million, I managed $20 million. If you have more money, you will lose your value. It is not good for the enterprise and you have to go back on your word. "
All outstanding entrepreneurs can make billions of investment decisions without blinking an eye, and at the same time save every penny they think they should save. Only by respecting the value of money can we maximize the value of his investment.
Alibaba's way
Although Alibaba has tens of millions of funds, there has been no big advertising promotion (it is understood that in the early days, Alibaba made 200,000 advertisements in China Business News and International Business Daily, but later it stopped, and there may be adjustments in the near future), and it is also from this place that a domestic press conference was held. Ma Yun thinks, "If advertising is what money can do, why do business people do what money can do?" Alibaba only relies on word-of-mouth communication and does not advertise. "Well done, let the customers speak, not themselves." (At present, the number of Alibaba members has reached 200,000, and it is increasing at the rate of 2,000 people per day. ) Every page of Alibaba's printing paper is double-sided.
Alibaba never sets the salary of its employees at the market price. Almost all the employees and managers who come in are less than half of the income of the original company. It is common to drop from 8000 yuan and 9000 yuan to 3000 yuan. Wu Jiong, the inventor of Yahoo search engine who jumped to Alibaba, not only cut his salary by half. It also loses seven figures of Yahoo's stock income every year. Why are you doing this? First, because the funds come from venture capital, they must be saved. Second, Alibaba doesn't want to attract talents with easy-to-get benefits, but uses its own corporate culture. Ma Yun claimed: "Never take the initiative to dig the corner of other Internet companies."
Not only has Alibaba never attracted talents with high salaries, Ma Yun also told employees that equity is deceptive. The failure of the company is worthless, and the success of the company is all in your hands.
Ma Yun's money is invested in customers, talents and employees. Huge sums of money are used for customer service, often reaching 5 million yuan, as well as staff training. Good employees make good customers. Ma Yun looks for someone as soon as he has money. Although he can't get a high salary, Ma Yun uses his future and enthusiasm. Ma Yun believes that outstanding talents can attract outstanding people, and this speed is competition. Until the end of April this year, Alibaba spent the first round of investment, and the second round of investment still didn't move a penny. "I have tried my best to spend money," said Ma. "I have been used to spending money on the cutting edge since I was a child." Contrary to many people's belief that the Internet is a bubble, Ma Yun believes that the Internet is a long-distance race. The first round of 100 meters in the United States does not mean victory, and Asian opportunities are behind. Since it is a long-distance running, we should hold our breath and save every sum of money. Alibaba has to plan for 50 years. You must have both rabbit-like speed and tortoise-like patience.
At the same time, Ma Yun is also beyond money. A young employee said: "Ma Yun has no distance from everyone, which is the most surprising. Ma Yun is zero distance from everyone. " Ma Yun will insist on saying goodbye to every employee every time he says goodbye. Every new employee, he will take the initiative to chat up.
"Alibaba is a company that does not wear clothes. There are no layers of clothes from other companies. We peel it off layer by layer. We can see it at a glance here. " A department manager said. Ma Yun will not only tell you how many times you took the math test as a child, but also tell employees: "Simplify complex things and deal with them with your mind. Men need brains, and women need brains. The man's heart is breathless and very wronged. "