The Legend of Jack Ma- How He Grew a Company to $480 Billion Valuation and Growing

Alibaba is a unicorn in many ways. The founder, Jack Ma, had always looked like an underdog. From rejection from a hotel manager position to Harvard University, he had faced rejections almost all his life. Yet, his company became an eCommerce giant. From the latest Softbank presentation, it looks like Beyonce of Destiny's Child, Alibaba alone was holding the whole portfolio up. 
This e-commerce platform has gained the attention of millions of people across the globe. There are non-stop transactions taking place through this platform daily. 

Jack Ma's philosophies
Jack Ma was an ordinary man, an English teacher by profession, before being known as a business tycoon. Throughout his life, even after rejections, he made sure not to lose his optimism and built an internet giant.
He was hopeful when he first heard about the internet during a visit to the United States in the 90s. With the help of 17 friends in his apartment, he established a digital marketplace that connected Chinese customers with manufacturers after raising $5million. He immediately saw growth and opportunity from his websites alibaba.com and 1688.com
Then in 2000, Jack Ma took $20 million from Softbank, which turned into a $60 billion by September 2014 when Alibaba IPOed. 
This investment had helped Alibaba launch and improve many of his products, including Taobao. In 2005, when Jerry Yang from Yahoo tried launching a site similar to eBay in China, he found it defeated by Taobao. So Yahoo decided to invest $1billion to help the growth of Alibaba. 
What strategies did Jack Ma follow?
Jack Ma is known as a long term thinker. He is willing to sacrifice any short term losses over long term gains. Jack Ma also believes that one can only achieve greatness if they are passionate about their dreams. He said many times that businesses that don't have a proper mission or dream, usually tend to fail. Dream and mission are the things that could drive long term thinking. 
There are plenty of strategies that Jack Ma follows to ensure that his company reached high levels of growth. 
The most important factor that helps in growing a company, according to Jack Ma, is to not focus on hiring top executives. The growth of Alibaba lies mainly in the hands of Jack Ma and his 17 friends that helped him throughout his career in the Alibaba group. He believes in effective communication and teamwork enabled their growth and productivity. 
Another factor Jack Ma emphasizes is making sure to keep an optimistic mindset. He has been a problem-solver his entire life. After failing multiple times initially, he diversified his business to the eCommerce sector. He's taken every opportunity and made the best out of it by keeping a positive outlook. 
Jack Ma is one of the most famous examples of a self-made man. From earning $12 a month, he established a company that is valued at $480billion and growing. He recently retired as the CEO of Alibaba after setting an example of how to be the most efficient person ever. 

References:
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-alibaba-founder-jack-ma-makes-and-spends-his-billions-2019-11?IR=T
https://www.forbes.com/profile/jack-ma/#25acf2ce1ee4
https://fortune.com/2019/09/10/jack-ma-net-worth-alibaba-retirement-billionaires/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/11/jack-ma-advice-mistake-destroy-startups/
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/sep/10/jack-ma-chinas-richest-man-steps-down-as-chairman-of-alibaba