Jack Ma: two failed exams, jobs denied and an apartment

Ma Yun, known in the West as Jack Ma, was born in Hangzhou, China, in 1964. He learned English by guiding foreign tourists, for free, at a hotel in the city. He became an English teacher. His story is told many times, and part of it comes only from his own mouth. This page says which part is which.

The no

The entrance exam. Ma failed the gaokao, China's national university entrance exam, twice, in 1982 and 1983. The first time, he scored extremely low in math. He passed on the third attempt and entered a teacher-training college in Hangzhou.

The jobs. According to Ma himself, in interviews, he was turned down for dozens of jobs after graduating. The most repeated story is KFC's: 24 applicants, 23 accepted, and he the only one rejected. He also said, in an interview with Charlie Rose in 2015, that he applied ten times to Harvard Business School and was rejected every time. These three stories come from his account; there's no independent document, so they appear here as "according to Ma".

The first internet company. In 1995, after seeing the internet on a trip to the United States, Ma created China Pages, one of the country's first internet companies. The business didn't go the way he wanted.

What they did

In 1999, Ma gathered a group of 18 people in his own apartment, in Hangzhou, and founded Alibaba, a platform to connect small Chinese businesses with buyers. Alibaba became one of the largest e-commerce groups in the world, with Taobao, Alipay and other businesses.

The path later had its own setbacks, including with the Chinese government, and Ma withdrew from public life for a time. The part that matters here is the beginning: the failed English teacher who founded a technology company in an apartment.

What this has to do with Bairo

The parallel is the apartment. Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez says that, after losing almost everything, he spent six months without leaving the house, in front of a computer, developing the foundation of the platform that would become CEASA Bank. He didn't know how to code. He learned with the tools of his own time. It's in The frequency of silence.

There's also the part about gathering people. Alibaba began with 18 people in a room. Bairo's seventh attempt began when he stopped being alone and found help in three old acquaintances. It's in The seventh attempt.

Bairo doesn't compare himself to Jack Ma. He recognizes in him the same stubbornness of someone who failed and took the exam again.

Read: No is the foundation of yes

Sources

• Jack Ma (biography, gaokao in 1982 and 1983, China Pages, Alibaba): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ma
• Benzinga, "10 Rejections From Harvard And 30 Failed Job Interviews": https://www.benzinga.com/content/40576050/10-rejections-from-harvard-and-30-failed-job-interviews-how-jack-ma-became-one-of-chinas-richest-men
• Boss Hunting, "'I Was Rejected From Harvard 10 Times'": https://www.bosshunting.com.au/hustle/rejected-from-harvard-10-times-alibaba-jack-ma/
• Britannica, Jack Ma: https://www.britannica.com/money/Jack-Ma