Alexis Ohanian Sr. | |
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Ալեքսիս Օհանյան Ավագ | |
 Ohanian in 2019 | |
| Born | Alexis Kerry Ohanian (1983-04-24)April 24, 1983 (age 42) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia |
| Occupations |
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| Notable work | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | alexisohanian |
Alexis Kerry Ohanian Sr.[1] (Armenian:Ալեքսիս Քերի Օհանյան Ավագ; born April 24, 1983)[2] is an American internet entrepreneur and investor. He is best known as the co-founder and former[3] executive chairman of the social media siteReddit along withSteve Huffman andAaron Swartz. He also co-founded the early-stage venture capital firmInitialized Capital, helped launch the travel search website Hipmunk and started the social enterpriseBreadpig. He was also a partner at thestartup accelerator and venture capital firmY Combinator.
Ohanian is based inFlorida where he lives with his wife, former tennis playerSerena Williams and their daughters, Alexis Olympia Ohanian and Adira River Ohanian.
As of 2024[update], Ohanian’s net worth is estimated at $150 million.[4]
Ohanian's paternal grandparents came to the United States as refugees of theArmenian genocide.[5][6] His mother, Anke, was an immigrant from Germany who worked as a pharmacy technician and would speak German to Alexis as a young child.[5][6][7] Ohanian's father, Chris, worked as a travel agent.[8] He is his parents' only child.[7]
Ohanian was born inBrooklyn,New York City[9][5] and the family moved to a Maryland suburb during his youth. Finding themselves the only Armenians in the neighborhood,[7] his parents sent Alexis to anAGBU-sponsored summer camp to maintain ties to their culture.[7] Ohanian attendedHoward High School inEllicott City, Maryland and delivered a commencement address in 2001 atMerriweather Post Pavilion.[10][11][12]
With thoughts of becoming a computer programmer, Ohanian took the only computer science class offered in his high school. However, he lost confidence in the major once he arrived at the University of Virginia.[13] He would go on to double major in history and business commerce and minor in German and has said, in retrospect, that he should have stayed with computer science given his work in technology.[13][14]
Ohanian says his obsession with technology started inmiddle school when he got a33.6k dialup modem.[15] With the support of his parents, he took computer programming classes at community college,[7] and he spent time on message boards learning how to code and build websites. Ohanian's parents also bought him his first computer—a486 SX—which he took apart and put back together.[7] Eventually, he began to make websites fornonprofit organizations for free, by "trick[ing]" them, hiding behind his email to disguise the fact that he was a teen doing this from his parents' basement.[15]
At one point, Ohanian planned to become an attorney but instead walked out of aLSAT and went to a localWaffle House inCharlottesville, Virginia.[16] While seated there, he realized that he wanted to start a company instead.[16] After graduating from theUniversity of Virginia in 2005 with degrees in commerce and history, Ohanian and his friend and college roommateSteve Huffman pitched the MyMobileMenu, a food ordering application, toY Combinator.[12] The company passed but encouraged the duo to come up with another idea it could potentially fund.[17] They later came up withreddit.com, an online bulletin board, with the goal of it becoming the "front page of the Internet".[17]
Reddit joined Y-Combinator's first batch of start-ups in the summer of 2005 and was later acquired byCondé Nast in 2006 for an undisclosed amount between $10 million and $20 million.[18][17] Ohanian continued to work closely with Reddit as a member of its board of directors. He returned to Reddit full-time with co-founder Huffman in July 2015 to lead the now-independent company.[19][20][21] He stepped back from the company in February 2018 to focus on investing again.[22] On June 5, 2020, Ohanian resigned from Reddit's board, asking to be replaced by a Black candidate in response to themurder of George Floyd.[3] Days later,Michael Seibel, an African-American entrepreneur, was named a Reddit board member.[23][24]
In 2007, Ohanian launchedBreadpig, an "uncorporation" that produces geeky merchandise and gives the proceeds to charity. As of 2012, he was no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the company.[25]
After leaving Reddit in 2010, Ohanian spent three months working inmicrofinance as aKiva fellow inYerevan,Armenia.[26] Ohanian helped launch the travel search website Hipmunk this same year and now acts as an adviser.[27] In June 2010, Ohanian launched Das Kapital Capital, which focuses on start-up investing, advising, and consulting.[28]
Ohanian was given the title "Ambassador to the East" by the early-stage venture firm Y Combinator. In this position, he meets with East Coast applicants, mentors New York YC founders, and is a general representative for the company.[29] He also held the role of part-time partner and full-time partner at Y Combinator before leaving in 2016 to help launch the thirdInitialized Capital fund withGarry Tan.[30]
In July 2020, Ohanian was the lead investor in a primarily female group that was awarded a new franchise in theNational Women's Soccer League, the top level ofthe sport for women in the U.S. The new team, later unveiled asAngel City FC, started playing in 2022. The ownership group, in which women hold a majority interest, includes 14 former members of theU.S. women's national team,Oscar-winning actorNatalie Portman, and many other prominent actors, entertainers, media personalities, and sportspeople, among them Ohanian's wife,Serena Williams.[31][32]
In June 2020, Ohanian ended his role as Managing Partner at Initialized,[33] and in June 2021, Ohanian announced a new venture capital firm he is leading named "776".[34] In 2024, he launchedAthlos, a women's-only track and field event.[35]
On May 14, 2025, Ohanian has bought a 10 percent share ofChelsea Women FC for £20 million and will take a seat on theirboard of directors.[36]
Ohanian co-foundedInitialized Capital in 2010 and made seed investments in start-ups includingInstacart,Zenefits,Opendoor, andCruise. It has had three funds, totaling over $500 million under management.[37] In 2014,CB Insights analyzed all the investors in tech, ranking Ohanian number one for network centrality, the breadth of connections an investor has with other investors in the ecosystem, and the quality and depth of those links.[38]
Through Initialized Capital, Ohanian invested $3 million in childcare start-upKinside in 2019. In 2020, Ohanian also invested $4 million inDispo (David's Disposable).[39]
In April 2021, Ohanian invested $10 million into social startuppearpop in a Series A round, alongside $6 million coming from other investors includingBessemer Venture Partners, Sound Ventures, Slow Ventures and other celebrities.[40]
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On July 2, 2015, Reddit fired communications director Victoria Taylor, an administrator who coordinated celebrity interviews from Reddit's New York office. In protest, volunteer moderators of theIAmA community set their forum to private, effectively turning it off, and other volunteer moderators followed suit because of "anger at the way the company routinely demands that the volunteers and community accept major changes that reduce [their] efficiency and increase [their] workload".[41] The following day, a moderator of IAmA posted that "Chooter (Victoria) was let go as an admin by u/kn0thing [Alexis Ohanian]",[42] an assertion that was not widely reported on.[43] Media outlets such asVariety blamed interim CEOEllen Pao for the dismissal. Harassment, which was already being directed toward Pao in relation to other controversies, intensified and she resigned a week later.[44] However, on July 12, former CEOYishan Wong informed the Reddit community that Taylor was fired by "the CEO's boss" and accused Ohanian ofscapegoating.[43] In the aftermath of Pao's resignation, Ohanian elaborated on his role in Taylor's dismissal, countering that even though the AMA/IAmA changes came from him, he still reported to Pao.[45] In 2017, Pao criticized Ohanian for avoiding the fallout by attendingWimbledon in the days immediately following Taylor's firing.[46]
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Ohanian has created all of the mascots for the companies he started:Reddit alien "Snoo",Breadpig pig with bread wings, Hipmunk chipmunk "Chip", andInitialized Capital honey badger.[47]
In 2009, he spoke atTED about a whale namedMister Splashy Pants.[48]
In late 2010 and early 2011, Ohanian spoke out against Congress'sStop Online Piracy Act and the Senate'sPROTECT IP Act. He helped lead the Internet-enabled campaign that eventually overturned the two bills. Ohanian spoke to members of Congress, helped launch the national anti-SOPA/PIPA protests that took place on January 18, 2012, and spoke at the rally in New York that was organized by NY Tech Meetup.[49]
In October 2012, Ohanian teamed up with Reddit General Manager Erik Martin and embarked on the Internet 2012 Bus Tour from Denver, Colorado to Danville, Kentucky to campaign for the open Internet during the presidential and vice presidential debates. One of the campaigns stops spurred the idea for a possible "National Geek Day" in Washington, D.C.[50][51] In response to his work advocating for an Open Internet,The Daily Dot named Ohanian number one in their top 10 most influential activists of 2012, and Forbes Magazine dubbed him "Mayor of the Internet".[52][53]
In May 2014, Ohanian began lobbying the FCC to support net neutrality, culminating with a day-long phone-a-thon with the FCC and Congress on January 15, 2015.[54]
In early 2017, Ohanian worked with teenager Rayouf Alhumedhi to campaign for ahijab emoji. Ohanian helped arrange an AMA for Alhumedhi on r/twoxchromosomes about her idea and responded to critics.[55] On July 17, 2017,Apple released its version of the hijab emoji.[56]
On December 10, 2012, Ohanian teamed up withLester Chambers ofThe Chambers Brothers to launch aKickstarter project, with the intent to make a new album entitled "Lester's Time Has Come". According toFast Company, Ohanian aimed "to prove that there are new, sustainable funding opportunities for artists now thanks to platforms like Kickstarter".[57] This project raised over $61,000 for Chambers.[58]
Two years later, Ohanian raised $12,244 for the non-profitBlack Girls Code onTilt.com.[59] In May 2014, Ohanian usedTilt.com again to launch "Save Net Neutrality: Billboard in FCC's Backyard", a crowdfunding campaign to protest the FCC's plans to eliminate the idea of net neutrality.[60]
Visiting Armenia on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, in April 2015, Ohanian touredChildren of Armenia Fund (COAF)-supported villages in rural Armenia.[61]
In 2008, Ohanian's mother, Anke, died from brain cancer.[7][12]
On December 29, 2016, Ohanian became engaged to Olympian tennis playerSerena Williams.[62] Their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, was born on September 1, 2017 inWest Palm Beach, Florida.[63] Ohanian and Williams married on November 16, 2017 in New Orleans.[64] Guests at the wedding includedBeyoncé,Anna Wintour,Kelly Rowland andKim Kardashian.[65] Ohanian has said that "watching Williams compete has changed how he measures success in business".[66] Ohanian and Williams gave their daughter a doll, calledQai Qai, which has become famous on social media.[67] In May 2023, it was revealed that Williams was pregnant with the couple's second child in an announcement before theMet Gala, where she was seen visibly pregnant.[68] In August 2023, Williams gave birth to their second daughter, Adira River.[69]
On November 28, 2024, he underwent surgery to remove thyroid nodules to prevent possible cancer.[70]
Following the birth of his daughter, Ohanian became an advocate of paternity leave and wrote an article about his experience following his daughter's birth in theNew York Times.[71] "After my wife nearly died giving birth, I spent months at home caring for my family".[72] In June 2019, Ohanian announced his plans to bring the pledge to lawmakers onCapitol Hill in late 2019 to push for passage of federal paid family leave legislation. He stated that "I hope to be meeting with many senators, representatives, plenty of dads on both sides of the aisle, in both houses of the Legislature, who want this to be the law of the land".[73]
Since 2022, Ohanian has been funding climate-related projects started by young founders via the 776 Foundation Fellowship Program, modelled after theThiel Fellowship.[74] The fellowship is intended for students aged 23 or younger and offers them a total of $100,000 over two years, as well as guidance and other resources, todrop out of school and pursue work related to combating climate change, which could involve scientific research, creating a startup, or working on a social movement. Selection for the fellowship is through a competitive annual process, with 20 fellows selected annually.[citation needed]
To commemorate Ohanian's realization about his professional career, Derick Moore, a division manager at Waffle House, had a plaque installed at Booth 19 that includes a quote from Ohanian and reads: "Site of Alexis Ohanian's Waffle House Epiphany."[16]
In 2011 and 2012, Ohanian was named to theForbes "30 Under 30" list as an important figure in the technology industry.[75][76] In 2013, Ohanian and Erik Martin were featured as "champions of innovation" in the 20th Anniversary issue ofWired.[77] In 2015, Ohanian was named to theCrain's "40 Under 40" list for business.[78] In 2016, Ohanian was named one ofFast Company's "Most Creative People in Business".[79]
On May 21, 2020, Ohanian delivered the commencement address atJohns Hopkins University,[80] the following year was a commencement speaker at his alma mater, theUniversity of Virginia,[81] and in December 2022, was named a 2023 Money Changemaker[82] byMoney magazine.
Ohanian published a book titledWithout Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed on October 1, 2013,[83][84] which ranked fourth onThe Wall Street Journal's best sellers list for Hardcover Business.[85] Ohanian embarked on a five-month, 150-stop and 75-university tour to promote the book.[86][87]
In the summer of 2013,Small Empires with Alexis Ohanian, a weekly online series focused on risingstartups in New York City hosted by Ohanian, premiered onThe Verge.[88] The first season ran for nine episodes. The second season premiered in October 2014.[89]
On October 15, 2014, Ohanian launched theNYRD Radio podcast.[90] Guests on the show have includedTim Ferriss,James Altucher, Carter Cleveland (founder ofArtsy) andCameron Russell. The podcast features a segment called Office Hours, in which aspiring entrepreneurs can apply to work through an idea with him.[91]
On January 8, 2015, Ohanian released the first episode – listed as "Episode 0" – of Reddit's new podcastUpvoted, in which Ohanian delves deeper into real stories found on Reddit and talks to the users involved.[92] Each week, the podcast focuses on a different story and features a guest around whom that story is centered.
From businessdad.initialized.com, January 2020: "In a new podcast from Initialized Capital, Alexis Ohanian (cofounder of Initialized + Reddit) opens this question up to some of the most successful men across business, sports, entertainment, and more, for candid conversations about what it means to be a father in today’s world and how they balance their careers and family."
Ohanian was featured on alivestream broadcast on January 28, 2021[93] onTwitch. The livestream was streamed onAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez's channel. The stream featured various other people like TheStockGuy and Alexis Goldstein.[94] During the stream, guests spoke about their opinions on theGameStop short squeeze.
His mother was born in Hamburg and his paternal grandparents were Armenian immigrants.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)I have resigned as a member of the reddit board, I have urged them to fill my seat with a black candidate.
focus your energy on changing the things and improving the areas you can
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