Jack Ma Story

A Reaction Paper
By Jessica Mae O. Nubla

This reaction paper discusses my takeaways from the documentary “Jack Ma Story”,
which was based on the life of Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group.

Failures are Opportunities to Improve

When Jack Ma was a child, he always rode his bike to nearby hotel to befriend
foreigners. He ended up becoming able to speak English well due to that, and eventually
became an English teacher. Jack saw an opportunity to become a translator for a company
in the United States, however, it turned out that the man he talked to in the U.S. was a con
man. Jack did not let this deter him. During his visit to the U.S., he discovered the internet,
and found out that there was no information about China or any Chinese products. When
he returned to China, he created the very first Chinese internet company: China Pages,
which provided an online directory of Chinese companies and their information in English.
The purpose was to introduce China’s culture, economy, education, industry and trade to
the world, and to make Chinese products available to the foreign market.

In 1995, Jack realized that he needed the cooperation of the Chinese government,
however, this was not an easy feat. The government was very reluctant to partner with Jack
Ma, because China had strict control and regulations for the dissemination of information
in the country. He failed to get the government support. Jack Ma gave up on China Pages,
and realized that his dream had to wait.

In 1999, websites like eBay and Amazon boomed in the internet, and small
businesses in China started gaining interest. Jack Ma saw this opportunity to reintroduce
the internet in the Chinese industry, and launched Alibaba.com. This is when it all changed
for Jack Ma. eBay tried to enter the Chinese marketplace, but with the efforts of Jack Ma’s
team, they won against the corporate giant and became successful in China.

Everything that happened to Jack Ma led to that fateful day. Jack Ma’s story taught
me that failure is not the end of the journey. It’s just a part of it. Failure is the step towards
success, because it teaches us lessons vital to character development. It’s a very applicable
lesson in the life of a law student. It is no secret that juggling work and studies is very
difficult; however, it is not impossible. My failures made me who I am today. It is an
important mindset to see failures as opportunities to improve.