Jack Ma, the CEO of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, gave an interview at the World Economic Forum with Bloomberg TV's Charlie Rose, in which he talked about Alibaba's growth and history.
During the interview, in Davos, Switzerland, Ma reflected on the effects of the company's growth from a Chinese web startup to a global e-commerce giant.
Alibaba's September 2014 IPO set a world record for the biggest public offering, rising to $25 billion in value.
"For the first three years, we made zero revenue," Ma said. But eventually the site's fortunes picked up, and people in China began using Alibaba as a platform to sell their goods and run businesses online.
Ma told the audience at Davos this story about a time in which he realized the impact that Alibaba was having:
I went to a restaurant to go for dinner. And when I tried to pay the bill, the owner of the restaurant came to say, 'Sir, your bill is paid by someone.' And there was a small note saying, 'Hey, Mr. Ma, I'm your customer of Alibaba group, I made a lot of money, and I know you don't make any money. I'll pay the bill for you.'
That's not the only time in which people in China have wanted to thank Ma, though. He also said that when he was buying coffee someone sent him a cigar with a note thanking him for making Alibaba. Ma says he doesn't smoke.
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