This CEO banned his first employees from living more than 15 minutes from work
A new book on the Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has revealed that founder Jack Ma insisted that his first employees reside only minutes from work.
Alibaba — now a thriving $200 billion company — began in 1999 as a humble start-up based in Ma’s apartment in Hangzhou, China. In “Alibaba: The House that Jack Ma Built, author Duncan Clark recalls the company’s roots and the demanding culture that contributed to Alibaba’s success.
“The earliest hires earned barely $50 per month,” Clark wrote. “They worked seven days a week, often sixteen hours a day. Jack even required them to find a place to live no more than 10 minutes from the office so they wouldn’t waste precious time commuting.”
...
A new book on the Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has revealed that founder Jack Ma insisted that his first employees reside only minutes from work.
Alibaba — now a thriving $200 billion company — began in 1999 as a humble start-up based in Ma’s apartment in Hangzhou, China. In “Alibaba: The House that Jack Ma Built, author Duncan Clark recalls the company’s roots and the demanding culture that contributed to Alibaba’s success.
“The earliest hires earned barely $50 per month,” Clark wrote. “They worked seven days a week, often sixteen hours a day. Jack even required them to find a place to live no more than 10 minutes from the office so they wouldn’t waste precious time commuting.”
...
