Alexis Ohanian

You know, in the grand scheme of tech, a $10 million exit is minuscule. For 16 months worth of work, pretty good ROI. But to be able to make that call to my mom to say, hey, your faith in me paid off. Like, what can I buy you? Was worth everything. And then true to form. True to form. Like, I knew I was going to get my dad some season tickets for our local NFL team there in D.C.

You know, in the grand scheme of tech, a $10 million exit is minuscule. For 16 months worth of work, pretty good ROI. But to be able to make that call to my mom to say, hey, your faith in me paid off. Like, what can I buy you? Was worth everything. And then true to form. True to form. Like, I knew I was going to get my dad some season tickets for our local NFL team there in D.C.

True to form, though, my mom was like, I don't want anything. I'm like, no, no, I'm not going to let you do this. Come on, what do you want? She was like, I don't want anything. And I ended up making a donation for her to her favorite nonprofit. She was like, all right, if you're going to have to give me something, you can do that. And I was so mad.

True to form, though, my mom was like, I don't want anything. I'm like, no, no, I'm not going to let you do this. Come on, what do you want? She was like, I don't want anything. And I ended up making a donation for her to her favorite nonprofit. She was like, all right, if you're going to have to give me something, you can do that. And I was so mad.

I was so mad because lovingly, I was like, God, there is no way I'm ever going to top this. You realize you have set the bar so high that if I ever have kids, I'm going to be chasing that goal. But like I said, that's who she was. That's all she cared about. She was an undocumented immigrant.

I was so mad because lovingly, I was like, God, there is no way I'm ever going to top this. You realize you have set the bar so high that if I ever have kids, I'm going to be chasing that goal. But like I said, that's who she was. That's all she cared about. She was an undocumented immigrant.

She was an au pair from Germany who overstayed her visa because she fell in love with my dad, this Armenian-American here in the States. Yeah, they eventually got married, had me. But she worked the jobs she needed to work to pay the bills and do the things. And her number one, I mean, I don't think anyone would have told you, the most important thing to her was her family.

She was an au pair from Germany who overstayed her visa because she fell in love with my dad, this Armenian-American here in the States. Yeah, they eventually got married, had me. But she worked the jobs she needed to work to pay the bills and do the things. And her number one, I mean, I don't think anyone would have told you, the most important thing to her was her family.

And I was an only child, so I got all the shine from that. Yeah. That was the foundation, man. And when folks want to know how or why or all this stuff, man, I pointed to her. Sorry, dad, you get some credit too. But having that confidence, having that support, having that unwavering.

And I was an only child, so I got all the shine from that. Yeah. That was the foundation, man. And when folks want to know how or why or all this stuff, man, I pointed to her. Sorry, dad, you get some credit too. But having that confidence, having that support, having that unwavering.

When I told her, I told this woman I wanted to be a professional waiter in high school because I was so good serving at Pizza Hut. Yeah. So I worked pizza in high school and I was a dishwasher, then I was a cook. And then the deep dish pizzas are a sleeper. I'll make them at home now with the cast iron. They're good. And eventually I made it as a serving and I was pretty good.

When I told her, I told this woman I wanted to be a professional waiter in high school because I was so good serving at Pizza Hut. Yeah. So I worked pizza in high school and I was a dishwasher, then I was a cook. And then the deep dish pizzas are a sleeper. I'll make them at home now with the cast iron. They're good. And eventually I made it as a serving and I was pretty good.

And my boss, Tony, he was like, hey, you know what? Instead of going to college, I think you could do this full time. Like, you're really good. And I was like, really? And he was like, yeah. And I was like, I could move to New York. And he's like, you can move to New York. You can make a great career out of this.

And my boss, Tony, he was like, hey, you know what? Instead of going to college, I think you could do this full time. Like, you're really good. And I was like, really? And he was like, yeah. And I was like, I could move to New York. And he's like, you can move to New York. You can make a great career out of this.

and uh and so i remember going home and telling my parents i was like i'm thinking about not going to college and the last thing you would tell an armenian dad is that you're not going to go to college just to be clear and my dad to his credit didn't say anything my mom though so sweet she was like look whatever you do i know you're going to be the best at it i know you're going to work your hardest why don't you start with a budget and figure out what it'll cost to live there and then how much you'll get paid and see if that's something you want to accomplish and thankfully

and uh and so i remember going home and telling my parents i was like i'm thinking about not going to college and the last thing you would tell an armenian dad is that you're not going to go to college just to be clear and my dad to his credit didn't say anything my mom though so sweet she was like look whatever you do i know you're going to be the best at it i know you're going to work your hardest why don't you start with a budget and figure out what it'll cost to live there and then how much you'll get paid and see if that's something you want to accomplish and thankfully

My ADD brain switched pretty soon thereafter. But this was a woman who, no matter what, was going to support whatever I was doing. And then when it just so happened to be a tech startup, she was like, great.

My ADD brain switched pretty soon thereafter. But this was a woman who, no matter what, was going to support whatever I was doing. And then when it just so happened to be a tech startup, she was like, great.

Literally the first person to buy our merch, the first person to post on... God, there are comments from my mom on TechCrunch circa 2005 that no one else would notice, but I know because I can see her username. And it's the most...

Literally the first person to buy our merch, the first person to post on... God, there are comments from my mom on TechCrunch circa 2005 that no one else would notice, but I know because I can see her username. And it's the most...