How did Alibaba.com get its name?

In the story ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,’ a chamber of treasures is opened with the words, “Open sesame.” "E-commerce is global so we needed a name that was globally recognised," the website states. "Alibaba brings to mind 'Open sesame,' representing that our platforms open a doorway to fortune for small businesses"

Alibaba is a giant tech firm that remains a giant mystery to many Americans. The e-commerce company has a number of businesses all under the name Alibaba Group. Why did founder and executive chairman Jack Ma choose to call his company Alibaba?

Though the origin has a colorful story, the company offers the short version on its website, explaining it's a "well-known" name and easily pronounced. In the story "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," from the collection "One Thousand and One Nights," a chamber of treasures is opened with the words, "Open sesame."

"E-commerce is global so we needed a name that was globally recognized," the website states. "Alibaba brings to mind 'open sesame,' representing that our platforms open a doorway to fortune for small businesses." But back in 2006, the former English teacher at Hangzhou Dianzi University with a pay of $12 a month, explained in detail how he chose the name in a San Francisco coffee shop.

"And then a waitress came, and I said do you know about Alibaba? And she said yes," Ma told CNN's Talk Asia show in 2006. "I said what do you know about Alibaba, and she said 'Open Sesame.' And I said yes, this is the name! Then I went onto the street and found 30 people and asked them, 'Do you know Alibaba'? People from India, people from Germany, people from Tokyo and China... They all knew about Alibaba."

"Alibaba – open sesame. Alibaba – 40 thieves," Ma said. "Alibaba is not a thief. Alibaba is a kind, smart business person, and he helped the village. So...easy to spell, and global know. Alibaba opens sesame for small to medium -sized companies. We also registered the name AliMama, in case someone wants to marry us!"

In his early childhood, Jack Ma failed in his primary school examinations, not once, but twice! He failed thrice during his middle school exams. When applying to universities after his high school, Jack failed the entrance exams thrice, before finally joining Hangzhou Normal University. He even applied and wrote to Harvard University ten times about being admitted – and got rejected each time. This was only during his education!

During and after his bachelor’s degree, Jack tried and failed to get a job at a multitude of places. After spending three years to get into a university, Jack failed to land a job after applying to them 30 times!

He recollects in his interview, “When KFC came to China, 24 people went for the job. Twenty-three people were accepted. I was the only guy who wasn’t.” He was also one of the 5 applicants to a job in police force and was the only one getting rejected after being told, “No, you’re no good.”