Alibaba founder Jack Ma said, “Women are AliBaba’s secret sauce.” (Image: Reuters)

Alibaba founder Jack Ma, one of the world’s richest men says, “pay attention to women”. He said that one of Alibaba’s secrets for success is hiring women. Jack Ma, on Tuesday, at an event called Gateway 17 in Detroit talked to young entrepreneurs. The Gateway event was reportedly conducted with an intention to lure in small businesses in the US onto Alibaba and promised them of reaching out to “one billion Chinese consumers.” At the event, Ma said, “Women are AliBaba’s secret sauce.” Ma’s reason for saying this was “women care for other people much more than men,” while on the other hand, men care usually for themselves. He reiterated that women are going to be very powerful in the 21st century. The reason Ma says this, he justifies, “because in the last century people used to compare muscles, but in this century people only compare wisdom.” He said that businesses should hire as many women as possible and that is what even his company has done over the years. In the next three decades, Ma said entrepreneurs should watch people under 30, small companies and women.

The affable and sometimes humorously self-deprecating 52-year-old billionaire also shared many tips with the young businessmen present at the event. He said that if a person is 20 years old, they should join a good company and work under a good boss, in order to learn how to do business. He said that eventually when one is 40, one should do things where he/she is strong and good at. He then said that finally when one is 50, they should spend time on young people and give them chance. Being rejected is not always bad. He told his personal story about how he was rejected even after standing in line in a hot summer sun for 2.5 hours, to be a hotel waiter.

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Apart from his tips, Jack Ma also shared some insights into the future of technology. He said that entrepreneurs are currently going through a critical time in the transition of businesses, technology, and globalisation. Ma told an audience of over three thousand small businessmen, that the firms which use the internet in the best way in the coming years ‘will win’. The Alibaba founder thinks artificial intelligence will make people’s lives a lot easier in the future. He believes emerging technology of artificial intelligence will kill more jobs in the short term, but it will also create many in the long term. He said, “Machines will be smarter, but humans are always wiser.” The Alibab CEO’s leadership advice included focusing on users and products first, instead of shareholders. He reiterated that optimism is a core component of leadership.