How Alibaba.com got its name

Jack Ma said: "One day I was in San Francisco in a coffee shop and I was thinking Alibaba is a good name. And then a waitress came, and I said do you know about Alibaba? And she said yes. 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 Alilbaba?' People from India, people from Germany, people from Tokyo and China... They all knew about Alibaba. Alibaba - open sesame. Alibaba - 40 thieves. Alibaba is not a thief. Alibaba is a kind, smart business person, and he helped the village. So ... easy to spell, and globally known. Alibaba opens sesame for small- to medium-sized companies. We also registered the name AliMama, in case someone wants to marry us!"

(China Daily 05/11/2009 page6)