TAG

# Jack Ma

2026-10-22

Taobao: Free Storefronts, IM Haggling, and Escrow—How a SARS Quarantine Startup Flipped eBay's 72% China Monopoly in 24 Months

Ranked #28 in '100 Products That Changed the World': Taobao (OVR 89.35: Impact 93, Business 92, Scale 91, Durability 91, Originality 85, Experience 85). Built in 30 days by seven engineers quarantined inside a Hangzhou apartment during the 2003 SARS outbreak, Taobao dismantled eBay's 72.4% Chinese market share with three localization masterstrokes: zero listing fees, live instant-messaging bargaining (AliWangwang), and Alipay escrow trust.

2026-09-10

No. 14 on the greatest product managers list: Jack Ma — how a man who says he can’t write code made the top 15

Alipay launched on 15 October 2003. Its first transaction: Cui Weiping, studying in Japan, sold a used Fuji camera for 750 yuan; Jiao Zhenzhong in Xi’an bought it; it cleared two hours later. That year eBay’s EachNet held 72.4% of China’s C2C market — two years later that exact number belonged to Taobao. Jack Ma ranks 14th at 93.20, with taste at 80, his lowest, 19 points below Zhang Xiaolong at No. 3.