????中國在線零售商阿里巴巴集團（Alibaba Group）的聯合創始人馬云一向很愿意跟聽眾們分享自己創業之初的艱辛。

????2011年，在斯坦福大學（Stanford University）演講時，他回憶說：“我們是一家非常幸運的公司。當時我們生存下來的機會微乎其微。我沒有家庭背景，既不是富二代，也沒有靠山?！?/p>

????如今，阿里巴巴已經成為電子商務領域的龐然大物，相當于eBay、貝寶（PayPal）和亞馬遜（Amazon.com）的結合體。周二，阿里巴巴申請首次公開募股，有望成為美國歷史上規模最大的IPO。馬云曾做過教師和英文翻譯，去年他卸任阿里巴巴首席執行官，正如他所說，這是為了給年輕人提供更大的舞臺，因為他們更適合當今的互聯網。但馬云依舊擔任著阿里巴巴董事局主席的職務，仍然是公司的戰略決策者和精神領袖，對這家公司有著長遠的影響。

????中國在線視頻網站優酷網（Youku）的首席執行官古永鏘說：“很顯然，他是一位開拓者和夢想家?！弊罱⒗锇桶拖騼灴嵬顿Y了12億美元。

????馬云與古永鏘的第一次見面是在15年前。那時候，阿里巴巴還沒有誕生，古永鏘希望聘用馬云。當時，馬云只是說了他設想的公司的名稱，而沒有透露自己的商業計劃。古永鏘回憶起馬云是這樣說的：“我不能告訴你我的商業計劃是什么——這是商業機密?！弊罱?，在阿里巴巴入股優酷的談判中，兩人再次握手。雖然馬云已經不再負責阿里巴巴的日常管理，還把CEO的職務正式交給了接班人陸兆禧，但他依然在很大程度上參與了會談。

????古永鏘說：“馬云雖然已經卸任，但依然很忙。”

????在中國，馬云是可以與蘋果（Apple）聯合創始人史蒂夫?喬布斯相提并論的名人。去年，幾萬名客戶和員工聚集在一座足球場，傾聽馬云卸任CEO的告別演講。當時依舊是典型的馬云式高調風格。他身穿華麗的銀色上衣和帽子出場，演講之前還唱了一首中國流行歌曲，觀眾們則以歡呼吶喊表示歡迎。

????1999年，互聯網在中國剛剛興起，馬云在17位朋友的幫助下，在自己的公寓里創辦了阿里巴巴。最初，阿里巴巴是一個中小型企業在線商品交易的平臺。后來，馬云又創辦了針對消費者市場的姊妹網站淘寶網（Taobao）。

????雖然面臨eBay的激烈競爭，但阿里巴巴網站還是迅速吸引了大批用戶。許多分析師認為，阿里巴巴的崛起是因為靠初期的免費政策吸引了用戶，同時又迎合了中國人的口味。

????市場分析公司S&P Capital IQ的分析師斯科特?凱斯勒這樣描述馬云：“他有長遠的眼光——這在當今并不多見。他能堅持自己的愿景，在應該大膽出擊的時候表現果敢?！?/p>

????事實上，馬云并不回避斗爭。雖然馬云也有頑童的一面，但多年來，他也曾多次將矛頭對準美國高管和美國公司。馬云曾多次聲稱eBay在中國必將遭遇失敗，果然一語中的。他還經常與阿里巴巴的大股東雅虎（Yahoo）發生爭執，不過現在雙方已經重歸于好。

????近幾年，在馬云的推動下，阿里巴巴不斷向在線支付、銀行業和云存儲等領域擴展。此外，他也積極在中國和美國（令許多人感到意外）進行投資。去年，阿里巴巴向在線零售商快遞服務公司ShopRunner投資2億美元。上個月，美國拼車服務公司Lyft融資2.5億美元，阿里巴巴也參與了投資。

????凱斯勒認為，馬云的計劃是使阿里巴巴走出中國。計算機制造商聯想（Lenovo）是為數不多真正打入西方市場的中國公司之一。

????凱斯勒說：“他們把自己看成首批走向世界的中國公司。實際上，真正打入世界市場的中國公司并不多?！?/p>

????周二提交的IPO文件顯示，截至12月31日的九個月內，阿里巴巴的收入為65億美元，利潤為28億美元。其中絕大多數收入來自中國，約為47億美元。

????赴美上市是阿里巴巴全球野心的另一個標志。其他中國公司，比如中國搜索引擎百度（Baidu），雖然也在美國上市，但更多是出于財務現實的考慮，而不是為了進軍美國市場。

????Jack Ma, co-founder of Chinese online retailer Alibaba Group, likes to tell anyone listening that his company faced slim odds as a start-up.

????"We are a very lucky company," he recalled during a talk Stanford University in 2011. "There was no chance that we would survive. I don't have any background, rich father or strong uncles."

????Today, Alibaba is an e-commerce colossus that is roughly the equivalent of eBay (EBAY), PayPal and Amazon.com (AMZN) combined. On Tuesday, it filed for an initial public offering that could be the largest in U.S. history. Ma, a former school teacher and English translator, stepped down as Alibaba's chief executive last year to, as he put it, leave room for younger talent that is more in tune with today's Internet. However, as executive chairman, he still casts a long shadow over the company as its strategist and philosopher-in-chief.

????"He's clearly a pioneer and a visionary," said Victor Koo, chief executive of Youku, a Chinese online television site in which Alibaba recently led a $1.2 billion investment.

????The two men first met 15 years ago when Koo tried to recruit Ma for a job just before Alibaba's birth. At the time, Ma would only reveal the name of his brainchild but not its business plan. "I can't tell you what it is – it's a secret," Koo recalled Ma saying during their talk. They crossed paths yet again during the recent negotiations for Alibaba's stake in Youku. As usual, Ma was quite involved during meetings despite officially withdrawing from Alibaba's day-to-day management and leaving the CEO job to his lieutenant, Jonathan Lu.

????"It's a very engaged retirement," Koo said.

????In China, Ma is a celebrity in the mold of Apple (AAPL) co-founder Steve Jobs. Legions of customers and employees packed a soccer stadium last year to see his goodbye speech as CEO. In his typical bombastic style, Ma preceded the talk by belting out a Chinese pop song on stage while wearing a gaudy silver suit and hat. The crowd roared its approval.

????Ma, with the help of a group of 17 friends, started Alibaba out of his apartment in 1999 just as the Internet started to take hold in China. It began as a site for small and medium-sized businesses to buy and sell goods online. Later, he created a sister site, Taobao, that is focused on the consumer market.

????Despite intense competition from eBay, Alibaba's Web sites quickly gained users. Many analysts credit the company's rise to initially offering free listings to attract users and its appeal to Chinese tastes.

????"He's someone who thinks very long term - which is something that isn't very common these days," Scott Kessler, an analyst with S&P Capital IQ, said of Ma. "He was true to his vision and bold as appropriate."

????Indeed, Ma does not shy from tussles. Although impish, he has taken pot shots at a number of U.S. executives and their companies over the years. Ma repeatedly declared eBay's demise in China before it actually happened. He's also frequently feuded with Yahoo (YHOO), a big investor in Alibaba, although they've since patched up their differences.

????In recent years, Ma has pushed Alibaba beyond its roots into online payments, banking and cloud storage. He's also championed investments in China and, to the surprise of many, in the United States. Last year, Alibaba led a $200 million investment in ShopRunner, a delivery service for online retailers. Last month, Alibaba followed up by joining a group that invested $250 million in Lyft, the ride-sharing service.

????Ma's plan is expand Alibaba outside outside of China, Kessler said. Lenovo (LNVGY), the computer maker, is one of the few Chinese companies to have actually made inroads in the West.

????"They see themselves as one of the first Chinese companies to go global," Kessler said. "There really aren't a lot of examples."

????Alibaba had revenue of $6.5 billion and profit of $2.8 billion in the nine months ending Dec. 31., according to its IPO filing Tuesday. The vast majority of the revenue - $4.7 billion - originated from China.

????Filing for a U.S. IPO could very well be one more sign of Alibaba's global ambitions. Others Chinese companies like Baidu (BIDU), the Chinese search engine, have sold shares here, but it was more of because of financial realities than part of an effort to crack the U.S. market.