A three-minute-long clip from a republished interview of Alibaba founder Jack Ma is once again going viral on social media. Recorded during the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos in 2015, the video shows the billionaire businessman talking about the failures that shaped his life, including the time he was rejected by both Harvard and KFC. The video, shared thrice on Facebook by WEF, has collected over 17.4 million views and counting.
The clip, last shared on December 28, shows parts of the original video which is about 45-minutes-long. It begins with Mr Ma talking about being rejected from Harvard 10 times. The business magnate was later also
rejected by fast food chain KFC. "When KFC came to China in our city, 24 people went for the job - 23 got accepted," he says. The only person who didn't make the cut was him.
Look who's having the last laugh now, all the way to the bank.
The clip also shows Jack Ma talking about gender equality - "one of the secret sources for Alibaba's success is that we have a lot of women," he says - how martial art form Tai Chi helps in business, and his vision of changing the world.
If you don't have time to watch the entire interview, this little clip will be more than enough to inspire you for the new year to come.