How Your Worst Mistakes Are Actually "Fertilizer" For Your Success

Jack Ma reveals a perspective that most entrepreneurs miss: if you don’t give up, a failure isn't a dead end—it’s "fertilizer." While the world views Alibaba as a lucky 20-year success story, Ma admits the company was built on a mountain of mistakes that most people would find unimaginable. This video is a reminder that the path to the top is paved with errors, not perfection.

The Alibaba Reality Check
From raising capital to management and HR, Alibaba tripped in almost every department. Jack breaks down how these specific failures were their greatest teachers. In 2026, where social media makes success look effortless, this raw admission from one of the world's most successful founders provides a much-needed reality check on what "working hard" actually looks like.

The Benefit of Being Broke
One of the most profound insights in this clip is how Ma views financial constraints. He explains that when you don’t have money, you are actually protected from making "big" mistakes. It’s a powerful lesson for startups and creators: your lack of resources might be the very thing keeping you from a fatal error while you're still learning the ropes.

transcript
Transcript: If you don't give up, it's just a mistake. Mistake is the best fertilizer for tomorrow's success. I think for company like Alibaba, people say, hey, guys, you're so lucky in 20 years. You have achieved that much. Yes, we are lucky, but we worked very hard. We made more mistakes than anybody can imagine. We made mistakes on raising capital, we made mistakes on management, and we made mistakes on HR, we made mistakes a lot of areas. We learned more about those mistakes. For example, when we don't have money, we don't make big mistakes.

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