The May sunshine broke through the clouds, hitting the trees in full bloom. This was Berlin at its best. Coming off a cold, dreary winter, Berliners and tourists alike lined the city’s outdoor cafes and beer gardens to celebrate the arrival of spring. Soaking up the scene, I marveled at my luck in working for a Chinese company but spending a few weeks in the spring of 2000 traveling in Europe.
I strolled through the city with Jack and Abir Oreibi, the recently hired head of Alibaba’s new European operations. Born in Libya, raised in Switzerland, and a former resident of Shanghai who was fluent in five languages, Abir was the perfect guide to introduce Jack and me to Europe. Jack bounced along, asking Abir questions about Berlin with a cheery curiosity. With a common interest in foreign languages and cultures, the three of us quickly bonded.
Beyond exploring Berlin, our European tour had a serious business purpose. This was our big PR assault on Europe. We had set up a three-city media tour for Jack to generate some publicity for Alibaba as a way of attracting importers and exporters in Europe to use Alibaba.com. With Barcelona, Berlin, and London on the agenda, we had high hopes that our Europe trip would generate significant awareness of the website through a series of high-level events and media interviews.
We arrived at the massive Messe Berlin convention center, greeted by Internet World 2000 banners and rows of corporate flags flapping in the wind. As we picked up our name badges, thousands of attendees and exhibitioners streamed in and out of the venue. It was just as we’d imagined it. The largest Internet conference in Europe, Internet World was the place to be. With high hopes we zipped through the conference hall to the main keynote area, where Jack was set to give his speech.
Determined to make a grand entrance, we burst through the doors to a venue packed with 500 seats. But wait—only three were filled.
Was this the right room? We rechecked the conference hall’s floor plan. It was. But apparently the Alibaba revolution had not yet reached Europe.
An Internet World staff member stepped to the podium and leaned into the microphone. “Our next speaker is the founder and CEO of Alibaba.com. Please welcome to the stage Jack Ma.”
The hollow sound of six hands clapping echoed through the conference hall.
Jack jumped on stage, put on a brave face, and with an impassioned spirit began his speech to the room of empty seats. His speech was just as much about his life as it was about Alibaba. And, as with the other two times I had heard him speak in public, it was highly entertaining. Jack was a great storyteller, and Abir and I stood at the back of the room laughing.
The applause was enthusiastic, even if it was from just three people. So maybe we hadn’t conquered Europe. But our trip to Berlin had attracted at least three new revolutionaries.
Jack walked off the stage and said to Abir and me, “So, what did you think?”
“Great speech, Jack. We just wish there were more people here to hear it.”
With a mischievous smile Jack leaned over and whispered, “Don’t worry. When we come back here, this place will be totally full.”