Alexis Ohanian
University of Virginia · Reddit
How Two College Roommates Built 'The Front Page of the Internet'
28 February 2026
Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman were roommates at UVA. They pitched Paul Graham on a food-ordering app called "My Mobile Menu" — he rejected it but liked them enough to suggest a different idea.
Three Weeks to Launch
Graham said: "Build the front page of the internet." They built Reddit in three weeks during Y Combinator's first batch, creating fake accounts to make it look active.
Acquired in 16 Months
Conde Nast bought Reddit for $10-20 million just 16 months after launch. Huffman later returned as CEO to lead its resurgence.
IPO at $6.4 Billion
Reddit went public in March 2024. The lesson: your first idea might fail, but staying open to pivoting — and listening to mentors — can lead somewhere extraordinary.
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