Alexis Ohanian
alexisohanian.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2009
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian writes about starting Reddit, being a non-technical founder, and his resignation from Reddit's board.
What HN saysHN links it for his account of how Reddit began and his 2020 post about stepping down; commenters mostly cite it as background.
45HN people shared it
17linked it in comments
37stories submitted
2.0Kstory points
6 years agolast shared
2009people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1“What Did You Do?”5 people · 31 points · first shared 2020 · 23 comments on HN
- 2Keep calm & carry on: What you didn't know about the reddit story4 people · 776 points · first shared 2010 · 83 comments on HN
- 3Reddit Founders' YC Application4 people · 181 points · first shared 2010 · 51 comments on HN
- 4An open letter to Kevin Rose from Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian4 people · 140 points · first shared 2010 · 69 comments on HN
- 5YC Q&A Sessions coming to Boston (11 Oct) & NYC (13 Oct)3 people · 79 points · first shared 2010 · 8 comments on HN
- 6On being a proud non-technical founder3 people · 9 points · first shared 2014 · discussion on HN
- 7Homepage3 people · first shared 2009
- 8How reddit became reddit - the biggest smallest community online2 people · 157 points · first shared 2011 · 76 comments on HN
- 9Are we still talking about this?2 people · 48 points · first shared 2010 · 26 comments on HN
- 10Dear Fellow Geeks: WTF?2 people · 30 points · first shared 2013 · 9 comments on HN
- 11The first version of Reddit, after 3 weeks of programming2 people · 3 points · first shared 2014 · discussion on HN
- 12Video of my talk at Angel Boot Camp (Angel Investing for fun - not profit)2 people · 2 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 13Let's get Salman Khan (khanacademy.org) on the TED stage1 people · 225 points · first shared 2010 · 42 comments on HN
- 14The book that inspired the birth of reddit1 people · 188 points · first shared 2013 · 59 comments on HN
- 15Ben Huh can has reddit? I respond entirely in LOLcat photos - Alexis Ohanian1 people · 64 points · first shared 2010 · 23 comments on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
lukifer · 2020-06-11
Context: the new board seat was recently opened after co-founder Alexis Ohanian stepped down, while recommending the board nominate a black replacement.
https://alexisohanian.com/home/2020/6/5/what-did-you-do
kn0thing · 2012-07-13
Here's the blog post TechCrunch flamed me about (called me a liar and whatnot). I wrote it after I tried the alpha of diggv4, but before it was released to the public; I have no idea what happened internally, but the resulting product was indeed pretty devastating -- the final self-inflicted wound after years of encouraging power users and sacrificing the best interests of the userbase: http://alexisohanian.com/an-open-letter-to-kevin-rose
citricsquid · 2012-06-21
Alexis has posted about this before, a few years ago I think. He has lots of similar things on his blog about how reddit started, eg: http://alexisohanian.com/how-reddit-became-reddit-the-smallest-biggest
The video is worth watching though, it has more insights than just fake users.
noelsequeira · 2011-05-02
There's no doubt you've sharpened your saw with the projects you've worked on. It could've been way worse - I've been through the blues / in the doldrums, and couldn't get myself to do anything for weeks on end.
I happened to navigate to Paul's article on fundraising, and further, to Alexis' one on keeping calm and carrying on (http://alexisohanian.com/keep-calm-carry-on-what-you-didnt-know-about) and I was blown away. There's no way I could've survived something like that. You're in great company.
I'm looking forward to what you come up with. Here's to a great couple of years ahead.
answerly · 2010-10-09
I think YC is the best place to get a YC-sized investment. Have you considered applying? Lots of (most?) YC companies relocate from somewhere else for the batch. Some stay in the bay area and some move back home afterwards.
There is a YC event in NYC next week, in fact: http://alexisohanian.com/ask-y-combinator-anything-yc-qa-sessions-comi
woodall · 2010-07-12
Co-Founder Alexis Ohania's current projects include TBA Startup(s), TBA iPad & iPhone apps, TBA Book by Zach Weiner,Angel Investor with Das Kapital Capital LLC, AwesomeFoundation Board Member, TEDx Yerevan, and Breadpig, Inc.[1]
[1] http://alexisohanian.com/
whimsy · 2010-05-27
For those who don't know who Alexis Ohanian is, http://alexisohanian.com/ and on twitter http://twitter.com/kn0thing and on HN http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=kn0thing =)
From Wikipedia, "Reddit was founded by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian in 2005, both 22-year-old graduates of the University of Virginia. It received its initial funding from Y Combinator."
jeremymims · 2017-05-21
I know it's hard to imagine, but there are many sides to these stories. Things really aren't so black and white. You really have no idea just how hard these guys worked or the struggles they had to go through. I'd recommend you read Alexis's post from back in 2010: http://alexisohanian.com/keep-calm-carry-on-what-you-didnt-know-about.
Reddit was born out of the first Y Combinator batch in 2005. This batch turned out to be an exceptional group of people who helped make Y Combinator into Y Combinator. But it was far from a forgone conclusion that they would be successful or that Reddit would one day become a top five website on the internet.
My experience with Alexis and Steve is that they're extremely generous, helpful, and have set the tone for the "pay it forward" spirit of Y Combinator's alumni network. I'd encourage you to wish them the best of luck instead of hoping someone takes them down.
kissickas · 2020-06-06
With video here: https://alexisohanian.com/home/2020/6/5/what-did-you-do
(javascript required)
nols · 2015-06-18
This balogna is getting posted on HN now? For the record she was appointed CEO before her trial (although after she filed suit) to replace Yishan Wong and people have been crying about censorship on Reddit long before she ever worked there. Also Alexis Ohanian has publicly talked about sexism in tech since before Pao worked at Reddit[0].
0. http://alexisohanian.com/dear-fellow-geeks-what-the-fuck
jmduke · 2014-03-18
For another -- largely concurring -- perspective on this issue, Alexis Ohanian writes about being a proud nontechnical cofounder:
http://alexisohanian.com/on-being-a-proud-non-technical-founder
geuis · 2012-08-21
Why? Reddit was yc-funded. http://alexisohanian.com/our-y-combinator-summer-05-application-what-w
Given reddit's success, YC certainly has historical data to know that this type of business can be successful.
dwynings · 2012-03-30
"Animals? We're a freaking zoo.
Andy: When Paul described the type of person whom he
believes is an animal at his "How to Start a Startup"
talk, Andy was the first person of whom I (Steve) thought.
Steve: Steve regularly works extra hours at his current
programming job, even when over-time isn't an option (i.e.
working for free) to fix nagging bugs. At school, Steve
often works late nights with Computer Science friends
helping them get assignments working.
Alexis: See current schedule. When it comes to design,
Alexis literally won't rest until every pixel is aligned--
sleep deprivation is the status quo and when it comes to
working in general, coffee makes sure he's the last one to
go to sleep at night and the first one up in the morning."
http://alexisohanian.com/our-y-combinator-summer-05-application-what-w
cbs · 2011-09-09
No, it wasn't the ads. Digg aways had ads. The problem was that the community felt more and more pushed out the door. And it wasn't just thet there was an RSS importer, it was that digg was replaced a website built around a community with a website that was _nothing but_ an RSS reader. There was an understanding in the community that the new digg was going to be about allowing content creators to advertize, not the previous submission/voting system (which was already skewed to the userbase's tolerance limits).
In short it was not the advertising content alone, but that the advertising content replacing real content in a drive to monetize. That is exactly the kind of thing twitter is doing.
Here is an open letter from Ohanian to Rose where he blames the downfall of digg on the VC meddling. http://alexisohanian.com/an-open-letter-to-kevin-rose
clistctrl · 2010-09-02
He actually spoke there last year, you can watch it online here: http://alexisohanian.com/my-recent-talk-mit-startup-bootcamp
brandonlipman · 2015-03-23
Here is are some past YC applications that I have saved over the years. These may help. Lot's of great applications to learn from. The recent course, "How To Start a Startup" run by Sam Altman has tons of actionable lessons from past founders many of which are YC companies and partners.
1. http://www.scribd.com/doc/111078156/Yc-Application
2. Dropboxes Application - https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27532820/app.html
3. http://blog.zactownsend.com/our-yc-s13-application
4. https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-muses-successful-application-to-y-c…
5. A failed but insightful one - https://open.bufferapp.com/buffers-y-combinator-application/
6. http://alexisohanian.com/our-y-combinator-summer-05-application-what-w
7. http://www.nancyhua.com/2014/10/08/successful-y-combinator-s13-applica…
8. https://medium.com/@mattangriffel/getting-into-y-combinator-42a418a110…
Hope this helps. Best of luck!
mmphosis · 2010-10-01
http://www.softwarebyrob.com/2010/08/18/why-free-plans-dont-work/
http://web.stonehill.edu/compsci/History_Math/math-read.htm
http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2007/06/rich-programmer-food.html
http://tom.preston-werner.com/2010/08/23/readme-driven-development.htm…
http://www.defmacro.org/ramblings/latex.html
http://encosia.com/2010/08/18/dont-let-jquerys-document-ready-slow-you…
http://symkat.com/35/ssh-tips-and-tricks-you-need/
http://pieratt.tumblr.com/post/977179815/in-praise-of-quitting-your-jo…
http://www.kadavy.net/blog/posts/design-for-hackers-why-you-dont-use-g…
http://alexisohanian.com/keep-calm-carry-on-what-you-didnt-know-about