Jack Ma, the first Chinese entrepreneur to feature on Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” 2017 list, gave birth to Alibaba from just an idea to an institution. Running Alibaba, one of the largest e commerce platforms in the world, Jack Ma has led an inspiring life. Here is taking a look at some truly inspiring life lessons from Jack Ma, the man behind the second largest e commerce platforms in the world.
Jack Ma Life Lessons:
1. Accept rejection
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According to Jack Ma, rejection is a part and parcel of life. Born to an extremely poor family, Ma realised early on, in order to get something in life, you have to keep struggling to make sure you succeed. His first major taste for rejection happened when he was 23. KFC was opening its Chinese stores and Ma thought this was the best way to make some much needed cash. However, when he applied, he was the only one amongst 24 people to get rejected. This was not the only time he got rejected from something he really wanted. Even his dream college, the Harvard University, rejected him not once, but ten times. If Jack Ma had given up and stopped trying to make a life for himself, Alibaba would not be what it is today! Therefore, in orderto reach your goals, you have to accept the rejections as they come and continue working hard.
2. Ignore the negative people in your life
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There are always people in your life who are going to say no to whatever idea you have. The best way to ignore the negative people in your life is by accepting your dream and working hard to make them come true. The first startup he created, Alipay, was rejected by not just his acquaintances, but by his friends as well. If he had listened to the negative comments and shut down the site because people didn’t like the idea, Alipay would not be the largest mobile payments platform. Moreover, people in China wouldn’t have been introduced to a new form of online payments had Jack Ma not worked on the idea despite the negative people.
3. Let your vision have a positive impact on society
One of the things Jack Ma truly believes in is, it is important for your vision to have a positive impact on the people around you. Most people create businesses which help generate revenue for themselves. However, Jack Ma was slightly different. He constantly focused on creating a platform which not only changed the way people shopped online, but also had a positive impact on his employees and colleagues. Furthermore, he realised very early that money isn’t the driving force for success, helping other people is. Through this vision, he made sure everything he did was to impact the society in a better way!
4. Don’t allow the past to dictate your present
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According to Jack Ma, your past life isn’t an indication of what works and doesn’t work for the present. If you are too focused on how things worked in the past, you stop thinking of how to change the game for the present. Using this principle in everyday life, Ma made sure that whatever he does, he doesn’t stop thinking of how to work on the next big idea!
5. Your customers are always your priority
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According to Jack Ma, customers always come first, no matter what. Next come the employees and then, the shareholders. According to Ma, the shareholders always come and go, but the customers will always be the most important thing for the growth of your company. Customers are the ones who drive your company forward and are the ones who give you the push to make something great.
Jack Ma has always ensured that everything he does, he does it for the betterment of the people who work for him. With success lessons like these, it stands to see that the man has led a truly inspiring life. If you think we missed out on any other life lessons from Jack Ma, comment and let us know!
MobiKwik is venturing into the stock broking sector with the launch of its subsidiary, MobiKwik Securities Broking Private Limited (MSBPL), following approval from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on March 3, 2025. This move aims to diversify MobiKwik’s offerings beyond its core digital payments services and compete with established players like Zerodha and Groww.
MSBPL will provide a range of brokerage services, including trading in shares, securities, commodities, and derivatives. The subsidiary has an initial capital of Rs 1 lakh, with plans for an additional Rs 2 crore investment to support its operations.
As MobiKwik enters this competitive market, it brings a substantial user base of 172 million and a merchant network of 5 million. Despite recent financial challenges, including a reported loss of Rs 55.2 crore in Q3 FY25, the company aims to leverage its existing infrastructure and user engagement to capture a share of the growing investment technology market, projected to reach $74 billion by 2030.
This strategic expansion aligns with MobiKwik’s broader goals of enhancing its financial service
Nazara Technologies has sold its entire 71.54% stake in Sports Unity Private Limited, the company behind the multiplayer quiz game ‘Qunami’, for INR 7.15 lakh. This divestment, effective March 25, 2025, signifies a strategic shift for Nazara, which had previously acquired a controlling interest in Sports Unity in 2019 for INR 7.5 crore.
The decision to offload the stake comes as Sports Unity has faced financial difficulties, reporting no active business operations and a negative net worth of INR 0.45 crore at the end of FY24. This move aligns with Nazara’s broader strategy to streamline its operations and concentrate on more profitable ventures within the gaming sector.
This sale follows Nazara’s recent divestment of a 94.85% stake in another subsidiary, Open Play, to Moonshine Technologies for INR 104.33 crore. Despite reporting record quarterly revenue of INR 544.7 crore in Q3 FY25, Nazara experienced a 53.5% decline in net profit year-over-year.
Nazara continues to focus on enhancing its portfolio through strategic acquisitions and investments in high-potential gaming platforms while navigating the competitive landscape of the gaming industry.
Hypergro.ai, a Bengaluru-based marketing technology startup, has raised Rs 7 crore in seed funding led by Silverneedle Ventures, with participation from Huddle, TDV Partners, HME Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, FiiRE, and angel investors. Founded in 2022 by Rituraj Biswas, Neha Soman, Abhijeet Kumar, and Arijit Mukhopadhyay, the company aims to revolutionize digital marketing by addressing challenges like high Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) and low Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
The startup leverages AI to create hyper-personalized video ads using user-generated content (UGC). The fresh capital will be used to enhance Hypergro.ai’s AI capabilities, expand operations, and build a specialized team focusing on data analysis, predictive algorithms, and automation.
Since its inception, Hypergro.ai has collaborated with over 70 brands, including several from Shark Tank India. The company’s innovative approach has led to its selection for Google’s Startups Accelerator: AI First (India) program in July 2024, providing access to critical training, mentorship, and state-of-the-art AI tools.
Hypergro.ai’s platform now supports a community of over 300,000 creators across India and has partnered with more than 100 brands, significantly enhancing its AI model’s accuracy and improving revenue generation for clients. As it continues to expand and refine its AI-powered marketing solutions, Hypergro.ai is set to transform the digital advertising landscape, offering businesses more effective and efficient customer acquisition and engagement strategies.