Jack Ma Quotes & Sayings

We should never finish a 20 year program in two year. — Jack Ma

If you don't give up, you still have a chance — Jack Ma

In carrying out e-commerce, the most important thing is to keep doing what you are doing right now with passion, to keep it up. — Jack Ma

My dream was to set up my own e-commerce company. In 1999, I gathered 18 people in my apartment and spoke to them for two hours about my vision. Everyone put their money on the table, and that got us $60,000 to start Alibaba. I wanted to have a global company, so I chose a global name. — Jack Ma

If there are nine rabbits on the ground and you want to catch one, just focus on one. — Jack Ma

A peace talk is always difficult, always complicated. — Jack Ma

Rather than having small smart tricks to get by, focus on holding on and persevering. — Jack Ma

Don't even trust that you are able to unify what everyone is thinking; it is impossible — Jack Ma

Life is so short, so beautiful. Don't be so serious about work. Enjoy the lives. — Jack Ma

A leader should have higher grit and tenacity, and be able to endure what the employees can't. — Jack Ma

Success and profitability are outcomes of focusing on customers and employees, not objectives. — Jack Ma

Once in your life, try something. Work hard at something. Try to change. Nothing bad can happen. — Jack Ma

I always tell myself that we are born here not to work, but to enjoy life. We are here to make things better for one another, and not to work. If you are spending your whole life working, you will certainly regret it. No matter how successful you are in your career, you must always remember that we are here to live. If you keep yourself busy working, you will surely regret it. — Jack Ma

I'm a normal guy. — Jack Ma

I believe in two principles: Your attitude is more important than your capabilities. Similarly, your decision is more important than your capabilities! — Jack Ma

If you view everyone as your enemies, everyone around you will be your enemies. — Jack Ma

Customers first, employees second, and shareholders third, — Jack Ma

You never know how much can you do in your life. — Jack Ma

Right now there is a prime opportunity for all of us to change the rules of the game through e-commerce and shift the balance in favor of entrepreneurs like you. The Internet levels the playing field and gives everyone - be they big or small - a chance. — Jack Ma

If you want to grow, find a good opportunity. Today, if you want to be a great company, think about what social problem you could solve. — Jack Ma

Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine. — Jack Ma

Nobody wanted to believe Jack Ma. — Jack Ma

Opportunity lies in the place where the complaints are. — Jack Ma

The lessons I learned from the dark days at Alibaba are that you've got to make your team have value, innovation, and vision. Also, if you don't give up, you still have a chance. And, when you are small, you have to be very focused and rely on your brain, not your strength. — Jack Ma

I want people to learn what democracy means. — Jack Ma

Go big, or go home. Otherwise, you're wasting your youth. — Jack Ma

Be the last man standing. — Jack Ma

It doesn't matter if I failed. At least I passed the concept on to others. Even if I don't succeed, someone will succeed. — Jack Ma

Even if your competitor is still small in size or weak, you should take him seriously and treat him as a giant. Likewise, even if your competitor is massive in size, you shouldn't regard yourself as a weakling. — Jack Ma

People think, 'Jack, you do too much.' — Jack Ma

For ecommerce, the most important thing is trust. — Jack Ma

Never ever do business with the government. Be in love with them, never marry them. — Jack Ma

I don't shop online, but my wife buys everything at home. We buy sea crabs, fresh crabs, all kinds of things. — Jack Ma

I absolutely don't have $20 billion. But I'd love to, right? — Jack Ma

A good job isn't something you go out and find, it's something you discover while you're working. — Jack Ma

A leader should have higher endurance and ability to accept and embrace failure. — Jack Ma

EBay may be a shark in the ocean, but I'm a crocodile in the Yangtze River. If we fight in the ocean, we lose, but if we fight in the river, we win, — Jack Ma

Help young people. Help small guys. Because small guys will be big. Young people will have the seeds you bury in their minds, and when they grow up, they will change the world. — Jack Ma

I think Yahoo is a great company, with great assets. — Jack Ma

No matter how tough the chase is, you should always have the dream you saw on the first day. It'll keep you motivated and rescue you (from any weak thoughts). — Jack Ma

I am very interested in bringing companies from everywhere to sell their products in China. — Jack Ma

When I was 12 years old, I got interested in learning English. — Jack Ma

Today is cruel. Tomorrow is crueller. And the day after tomorrow is beautiful. — Jack Ma

If you're still poor at 35, you deserve it. — Jack Ma

Customers should be number 1, Employees number 2, and then only your Shareholders come at number 3. — Jack Ma

All MBA have said are correct, but they can't execute it. — Jack Ma

I know nothing about technology. — Jack Ma

I don't want people in China to have deep pockets but shallow minds. — Jack Ma

The world will not remember what you say, but it will certainly not forget what you have done. — Jack Ma

I don't want to be liked. I want to be respected. — Jack Ma

If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then be different from your peers. — Jack Ma

I would love to if someone would lend me the money. — Jack Ma

A great opportunity is often hard to be explained clearly; things that can be explained clearly are often not the best opportunities. — Jack Ma

If the customer loves you, the government will have to love you. — Jack Ma

A leader should never compare his technical skills with his employee's. — Jack Ma

We will make it because we are young and we will never, never give up. — Jack Ma

Alibaba is an ecosystem that helps small business to grow. — Jack Ma

No matter what one does, regardless of failure or success, the experience is a form of success in itself. — Jack Ma

I don't care about revenues. — Jack Ma

If Alibaba cannot become a Microsoft or Wal-Mart, I will regret it for the rest of my life. — Jack Ma

I flunked my exam for university two times before I was accepted by what was considered my city's worst university, Hangzhou Teachers University. I was studying to be a high school English teacher. In my university, I was elected student chairman and later became chairman of the city's Students Federation. — Jack Ma

You never know that the things you're doing are that meaningful to society. — Jack Ma

Luck is very important. Of course you can't wait for luck, because it won't come. While you start a journey, luck may eventually come to you. — Jack Ma

Chinese people, young people, they don't go shopping a lot in department stores. All department store guys hate me. They say business is bad because of Jack. — Jack Ma

Giving up is the greatest failure. — Jack Ma

If we go to work at 8 am and go home at 5 pm, this is not a high-tech company and Alibaba will never be successful. If we have that kind of 8-to-5 spirit, then we should just go and do something else. — Jack Ma

A leader should be a visionary and have more foresight than an employee. — Jack Ma

You've to make consumers smart. An e-commerce portal doesn't sell a product at cheaper rates, instead an offline shop sells it at a costlier prices. — Jack Ma

If we are a good team and know what we want to do, one of us can defeat ten of them. — Jack Ma

Without internet, there would have been no Jack Ma, and no Alibaba or Taobao. — Jack Ma

Adopt and change before any major trends or changes. — Jack Ma

Only fools use their mouth to speak. A smart man uses his brain, and a wise man uses his heart. — Jack Ma

Change the world is maybe Obama's job. — Jack Ma

What kind of business world are we living in? — Jack Ma

The opportunities that everyone cannot see are the real opportunities. — Jack Ma

We appreciate yesterday, but we're looking for a better tomorrow. — Jack Ma

Find the right people, not the best people. — Jack Ma

Opportunities are where the complaints are. — Jack Ma

Your employee should have superior technical skills than you. If he doesn't, it means you have hired the wrong person. — Jack Ma

I wanted to have a global company, so I chose a global name. Alibaba is easy to spell, and people everywhere associate that with "Open, Sesame," the command that Ali Baba used to open doors to hidden treasures in One Thousand and One Nights. — Jack Ma

EBay is a great company. There are a lot of good assets and good customers, and the U.S. people love it. — Jack Ma

I'm not a tech guy. I'm looking at the technology with the eyes of my customers, normal people's eyes. — Jack Ma

The customer is number one, the employee is number two and the shareholder is number three. If the customer is happy, the business is happy, and the shareholders are happy. — Jack Ma

A lot of people complain about yesterday. We have no power to change yesterday. But this very day, 30 years later, is what we can control and decide. Change yourself, take baby steps, and stay determined for ten years. I thank the times of change and everyone's complaints. Because when everyone is complaining, that is your chance, an opportunity. It's only in times of change that someone can be clear of what he has and wants, and what he needs to give up. — Jack Ma

Intelligent people need a fool to lead them. When the team's all a bunch of scientists, it is best to have a peasant lead the way. His way of thinking is different. It's easier to win if you have people seeing things from different perspectives. — Jack Ma

Always let your employees come to work with a smile. — Jack Ma

I like to play cards. I'm not very good, because I don't want to calculate, I just play by instinct. But I've learned a lot of business philosophy by playing poker. — Jack Ma

I try to make myself happy, no, because I know that if I'm not happy, my colleagues are not happy and my shareholders are not happy and my customers are not happy. — Jack Ma

Today the financial market is no good, but the money is there. — Jack Ma

A real businessman or entrepreneur has no enemies. Once he understand this, the sky's the limit. — Jack Ma

When you have one million dollars, you're a lucky person. When you have 10 million dollars, you've got trouble, a lot of headaches. — Jack Ma

Before I left China, I was educated that China was the richest, happiest country in the world. So when I arrived Australia, I thought, 'Oh my God, everything is different from what I was told.' Since then, I started to think differently. — Jack Ma

Never ever compete on prices, instead compete on services and innovation. — Jack Ma

I am going to enjoy some other things apart from business. — Jack Ma

I want to change history, do something important in my life, and influence individuals like we have with millions of small businesses on Alibaba. Then they love and respect you because you made their life important. — Jack Ma

No matter what your current condition, how or where you grew up, or what education or training you feel you lack, you can be successful in your chosen endeavor. It is spirit, fortitude, and hardiness that matter more than where you start. — Jack Ma

The quality of a good leader therefore is his vision, tenacity, and his capability. — Jack Ma

The most unreliable thing in this world is human relationships. — Jack Ma

Yahoo today is not a portal. Yahoo today is a search engine. — Jack Ma

You should learn from your competitor, but never copy. Copy and you die. — Jack Ma