10 nuggets of wisdom from Jack Ma to Filipino entrepreneurs

Alibaba founder Jack Ma. Photo credit: Alibaba.

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma received an honorary degree at the De La Salle University in Manila today.

Immediately after the awarding ceremony, the Alibaba chairman sat down and answered a range of questions from moderators and the audience – not all of them easy.

The eminently quotable Ma talked about his early Alibaba days, how the internet has changed the world, and what entrepreneurs must do to succeed.

Here are some of his memorable quotes:

When he started Alibaba, Ma, a former school teacher, said he had no training in technology nor knowledge of computers and the internet. What he had was the dream of being able to help small businesses.

I believe it is not the technology that changes the world, but the dream behind the technology.

Don’t worry whether your dream is silly, he said. Believe in something you’re passionate about.

There are about 7 billion people in the world and there’s just one you so [your dream’s] worth it.

And get a team who will believe in it too.

If it is just your dream, you can never go that far. But if it’s a group’s dream, you can go much further.