Jacob joined Alibaba.com in November 2019 to lead performance marketing efforts in North America. In less than a year, he has built and launched our digital acquisition campaigns to generate seller demand for our Business-to-Business (B2B) online marketplace. When he’s not empowering US small businesses to sell products in bulk online, Jacob enjoys hiking with his three-year-old pitbull and bouldering at his indoor rock climbing gym. Find out why Jacob loves working at Alibaba.com:

What brought you to Alibaba.com?

I like building things from scratch. I started my career in the agency world and sharpened my digital marketing skills, learning search engine marketing, social media marketing, and the likes. From there, I held a few other jobs in technology, focusing on demand generation and building out digital marketing teams responsible for revenue generation. When Alibaba.com reached out, they explained that this enormous company was growing an innovation hub in New York. It felt like an opportunity to join a global company that operated with a start-up mentality and would allow me to make an impact.

What’s the most exciting thing you’re working on right now?

I’m part of the go-to-market team. That means I’m responsible for empowering US small businesses and helping them achieve success when selling their products on Alibaba.com. In less than a year, one out of every three US businesses currently selling on the platform were acquired through the digital marketing customer acquisition campaign I built. These businesses now have the ability to sell to a global audience using Alibaba.com’s powerful tools.

What tools have you implemented?

There wasn’t a robust seller acquisition digital campaign when I first joined Alibaba.com. Now, we’re using multiple channels for acquisition with thousands of ad variations in rotation every week. I oversee everything from amplification of awareness to direct response campaigns and most recently, email nurturing.

What sets Alibaba.com apart from other ecommerce platforms?

The clear distinction between Alibaba.com and other ecommerce platforms is that we’re a B2B marketplace. We set businesses up to sell their products in bulk to buyers around the world. But our core value, “customer first,” is the most important difference in my opinion. Everything we release, any new services or content, has the customer in mind—so much so that we need to spend a specific amount of time each month listening to our customers to learn more about their needs.

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

Working with a global team and solving real business challenges is what’s most rewarding to me. We’re hitting goals not just for the success of our business but for the success of the small businesses selling and buying on Alibaba.com. I get to do my job all while working with colleagues that could be 7,000 miles away!

What’s your greatest accomplishment at Alibaba.com?

We’re at an interesting time in the world right now and sellers are looking for new ways to reach potential buyers. Recently, a business decided to sell on Alibaba.com through a campaign I ran for the Alibaba.com US Supplements & Nutrition Online Trade Show. After exhibiting his products at the show, a Fortune 500 company reached out to this business owner to learn more. They’re now connected and are in talks of doing business together…that’s really exciting to me!