Taobao Field Guide gets a Media badge

Laobanniang and I were invited to Alifest last weekend – VIP guests.  Alibaba treated us real, real nice and we got to see a big vertical slice of the Alibaba/Taobao universe. We already brought you some of the great speakers from the event. Today we introduce you to the Net Products Trade Fair where thousands of internet entrepreneurs gathered to meet and do business.

I’ve been to a few trade shows in my day, and they always, always, always suck the life right out of you. But this one was actually a lot of fun. Alifest had a fantastic atmosphere – everyone was smiling. Pay a visit to the Tianjin Light Industry Fair and see if you can find a single smile – not likely!

The Bank of Alibaba

The event’s theme was “Small is Beautiful,” encouraging small businesses to stay strong and hang in there. In his keynote speech, Jack Ma said he was fed up with banks not providing loans to small companies trying to kick-start their Taobao shops. He then announced that Alibaba would start giving loans.

The sign below says “Let there be no such thing as difficult business.” Visit this booth and you could apply for a loan directly from Alibaba. At a nearby booth, you could buy books to teach you how to set up an effective Taobao shop.

The main purpose of the fair was to connect Alibaba companies (factories who use Alibaba.com to find export buyers) with Taobao companies (who use Taobao.com to sell within China). These happy campers were pushing whitening cosmetics to potential Taobao shops.

Don’t be surprised if you start seeing a ton of swords on Taobao in the near future. They were a hot product – everyone wanted to get their hands on them. Here we see a father and son considering what kind of Taobao shop to open. I think the dad has made up his mind already.

Kuaidi pushes for brand recognition

At one end of the convention hall were kuaidi companies wrestling for attention, including FedEx. While the cheaper shipping companies will probably still absorb 95% of Taobao business, there is probably a market for a higher-end shipping option.

Taobao collectibles!

Laobanniang went nuts when she saw the Taobao gift shop. We left with two silky soft bamboo-fiber towels.

Big thanks to the kind folks from Alibaba who invited us to the show. And good luck to all the people who will be opening Taobao shops as a result of the Trade Fair. We hope to see you online soon ~  恭喜发财！

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Taobao Field Guide = VIP

Laobanniang and I just got back from Alifest – a huge party in Hangzhou thrown by Alibaba (the company behind Taobao).   It is Alibaba’s 10th Anniversary, and they have a lot to celebrate. Besides being one of the biggest, most influential and innovative companies in China,  Alibaba has awesome friends. Let me introduce you to a few.

No joke — Bill Clinton is good friends with Taobao! He gave a talk on the challenges for small businesses in Asia.  No video for this one, but here he is at Alifest 2005 with Alibaba founder Jack Ma (more on Jack another day).

These guys throw the best parties

Kobe flew in at 3AM to have a chat with Jack Ma about success. This was a major theme throughout the show. Taobao wants to show its support to all their shops. Some are successful but are having trouble taking their business dreams to the next level. Some are struggling in their early stages. Kobe and Jack say don’t give up.

Kobe has a Chinese language blog, too

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz

This one was my favorite. Howard Schultz shares some lessons about his struggles to fund his coffee dream and about opening the first Starbucks overseas (in Japan).

Jack Ma met with Starbucks about a possible cooperation last year

There were several other great presenters, leading up to the man himself, Jack Ma, who I will introduce you to in a few days. For now, check out what Jack and Howard had to say, and think about your own small business dreams.