The Memoir Spot
A snapshot review of a book related to the Non-fiction Feature
Also in this Monthly Bulletin:
The Non-fiction Feature: The Master Switch by Tim Wu
The Product Spot: Internet History Podcast
The Pithy Take
Technology and entrepreneurship, seemingly always intertwined, are prominently featured in this insider’s look at the founder of the giant e-commerce website, Alibaba.
How was it that Jack Ma, a man from modest beginnings in China and was an English teacher, built one of the world’s largest companies that is central to the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers? The author, Duncan Clark, was formerly an adviser to Alibaba, and he details the ebbs and flows of Alibaba, its tussles with Yahoo and Microsoft, and how Jack Ma has left his unique imprint on the company at every step of the way.
First, Jack realized that the downturn gave him a way to increase the loyalty of his paying customers.
He initiated a dramatic reduction in the cost of their subscriptions, telling David, “Let’s be responsible to our customers. They are paying fifty thousand yuan; we can give them thirty thousand yuan back…Jack was “always trying to understand how to get the money back later. He’s just not greedy about getting the money first.”
Alibaba – The House That Jack Ma Built
Author: Duncan Clark
Publisher: Ecco Press
304 pages | 2018
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