Alexis Ohanian is an American internet entrepreneur, a venture capitalist and investor. He co-founded Reddit with his friend, Steve Huffman. He also founded Breadpig, co-founded Initialized Capital, and many other start-ups. Alexis is married to Serena Williams, the famous tennis player.
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Alexis Ohanian Education
Alexis Kerry Ohanian was born on April 24, 1983 to Chris Ohanian and, Anke Ohanian, in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Howard High School, Elliot City, Maryland, US. Alexis Ohanian then proceeded to the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia where he graduated with a degree in Commerce and History in 2005.
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Alexis Ohanian Career in Reddit
In 2005, Alexis Ohanian co-founded Reddit with his college roommate, Steve Huffman. Reddit is an American web startup that allows registered members submit content to the site. Contents can be in the form of text post, images or links. The contents submitted are then voted up or down by other members. Post are organised into a user-created board called “Subreddits”.
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Y Combinator
The idea started when Huffman and Ohanian attended a lecture in Cambridge, Boston, Massachusetts by Paul Graham during a summer break from University of Virginia. After the lecture, Graham engaged the two in a conversation and invited them to apply for his startup incubator, ‘Y Combinator’. The two accepted, but the first idea they pitched: My Mobile Menu (an idea which intended users food by SMS text messaging) was not accepted.
Ohanian and Huffman was encouraged to come up with another idea. During a brain storming session to pitch another startup, the Reddit idea was born. The two were accepted in Y Combinator’s first acceleration for their Reddit idea. With funding support from Y Combinator, Huffman coded the site and launched Reddit in June 2005 with Ohanian.
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Acquisition
On Oct. 31, 2006, Reddit was acquired by Conde Nast Publications for an undisclosed amount. Although, speculators say the acquisition amount is between $10 – 20 million. After the acquisition, the company moved its operations to San Francisco.
In 2009, Ohanian and Huffman left Reddit to pursue other business interest. After five years, they both returned to leadership positions; Alexis Ohanian became the Executive Chairman and Steve, the Chief Executive Officer in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Alexis Ohanian stepped down from his position in February, 2018 to focus on his investment company.
Currently, Reddit is one of the top visited website in the U.S and the world at large.
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Hipmunk
In 2010, Alexis was recruited to Hipmunk, a company founded by Steve Huffman and Adams Goldstein after they left Reddit. It is an online travel company that provides users with hotel and flight deals through its website and mobile app. It is located in San Francisco, California, US. Alexis currently act as the company’s adviser.
Initialized Capital
Alexis Ohanian founded Initialized Capital in 2011 with Gary Tan. The company has its headquarter in San Francisco. The company is a venture capital company that focuses on seed, and early stage venture investments. In 2019, it has over $500 million funds under management.
Breadpig
In 2007, Alexis launched Breadpig. Inc. An ‘uncorporation’ that produces various items that appeal to geeks. The company gives its proceeds to charity including the ones from the Randall Monroe published book, XKCD: Volume 0.
See Also: Mark Zuckerberg – Biography and net worth of the founder of Facebook.
Alexis Ohanian Personal Life
Alexis is married to Serena Williams, a tennis player. They got engaged in Dec. 29, 2016, and got married on Nov. 16, 2017 at New Orleans. They had their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. on Sep. 1 2017 at the West Palm Beach, Florida.
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Alexis Ohanian Net Worth
According to List 25.com, Alexis Ohanian net worth is $9 million. He is also regarded by the Fast Company as one of the most creative people in business.
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Alexis Ohanian Honours and Recognition
- Number one on top 10 most influential activist according to The Daily Dot in 2012
- Mayor of Internet, Forbes, 2012
- 30 under 30 important figure in the technology Industry, Forbes 2012 & 2013
- Champions of Innovation, along with Erik Martin in Wired Anniversary Issue, 2013
- 40 under 40 Business List, Crain Communication Inc., 2015
- One of the most creative people in business, Fast Company, 2016
Alexis Ohanian Book
On October 1, 2013, Alexis published a book ‘Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed’. The book ranked fourth on the wall street of journal best sellers list for Hardcover Business, and it can be purchased on amazon.
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Alexia Ohanian Other activities
In 2013, Alexis started the Small Empires with Alexis Ohanian. An online series that focuses on rising startups in New York.
Also, Ohanian started the NYRD Radio in Oct. 15, 2014. It is a podcast that centers on interview with new generation of creators, with an office hour segment where aspiring entrepreneurs work through an idea with him.
He also started Upvoted in 2013. This is a method on Reddit website where its users signal their approval or support for a post. It features the guest whom the upvoted post centers on, every week.
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Alexis Ohanian Quotes
“Being effective at social media, whether for business or personal use, means capturing people who have short attention spans. They’re only a click away from a picture of a funny cat, so you have to make your thing more compelling than that cat. And that can be a high bar.”
“The social-media landscape changes incredibly fast, so you have to be open-minded and nimble to keep up with it.”
“Waking up every morning with a company is a lot of pressure. But when you’re aware of what other people are waking up with, it’s a whole lot easier.”
“Word of mouth now has an unprecedented influence because it spreads so far and so fast.”
“People want a remarkable experience; it’s what they’ll talk about, largely because the bar has been set so low by so many companies.”
“To join in the industrial revolution, you needed to open a factory; in the internet revolution, you need to open a laptop.”
“If I can accomplish anything in the next however-many years, it is this: To help a generation realize, or to think of themselves, not just as consumers but also creators.”
“Pitch tip: Speak confidently about your product, but be able to admit when you need more information, and get it to the people you’re pitching quickly after the meeting.”
“I do genuinely believe that, when given and presented with all the information and all the actual facts, the vast majority of people will make the right choice.”
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