Ready to float and get ahead

Hundreds of expansion-minded, fund-seeking merchants on Alibaba's online marketplace eye New Third Board listings or IPOs

Rome was not built in a day. Nor was any other great city, town, village or company. But in China's rapidly growing internet industry, a potential market-leader, it seems, can be built from scratch within five years.

Three Squirrels is a shining example. It launched on Tmall, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's online marketplace, in mid-2012. Today, it is China's largest snacks brand in e-commerce.