Jack Ma On The Moment He Knew Alibaba Was A Huge Deal

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REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group, speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 27, 2014.

Jack Ma, the CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, gave an interview at Davos with Charlie Rose, in which he talked about Alibaba's growth and history.

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During the interview in Switzerland, Ma reflected on the effects of the company's growth from a Chinese web startup to a global e-commerce giant.

"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.

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Ma told the audience at Davos this story about a time where he realised 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."

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That's not the only time that people in China have wanted to thank Ma, though. He also claimed that when he was buying coffee someone sent him a cigar with a note thanking him for making Alibaba. But Jack Ma says he doesn't smoke.