Alexis Ohanian

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...

crazy german mom english you can imagine but uh it's the sweetest thing and like she was a ride or die and so that was the that was the bar i had and so even when those things came up i just knew i can't quit now here's where i up was i mean intense compartmentalization And it was what I felt I needed to do at that time, which was let me just use work as therapy.

crazy german mom english you can imagine but uh it's the sweetest thing and like she was a ride or die and so that was the that was the bar i had and so even when those things came up i just knew i can't quit now here's where i up was i mean intense compartmentalization And it was what I felt I needed to do at that time, which was let me just use work as therapy.

Let me just work my ass off because I cannot work anyone. And if I've got her pulling for me, I will crush any competitors. I know my co-founder wasn't really equipped to have those conversations or really be a support at all. But I mean, we were kids, right? And so I just decided work is the therapy. And for the next

Let me just work my ass off because I cannot work anyone. And if I've got her pulling for me, I will crush any competitors. I know my co-founder wasn't really equipped to have those conversations or really be a support at all. But I mean, we were kids, right? And so I just decided work is the therapy. And for the next

10 years, you know, really did not think about, explore, delve into anything other than I'm just going to do my work and I'm going to... Obviously, I took as many AirTran trips home as I could to spend time with my mom and dad on weekends, but like...

10 years, you know, really did not think about, explore, delve into anything other than I'm just going to do my work and I'm going to... Obviously, I took as many AirTran trips home as I could to spend time with my mom and dad on weekends, but like...

let me not go any deeper than yeah here's this shitty thing i'm going to compartmentalize it and just focus on the tasks at hand and there were areas look i i think compartmentalization gets a bad rap i do think there are areas where it's actually tremendously helpful but with some now my my my take is a little bit more nuanced where i think with some work

let me not go any deeper than yeah here's this shitty thing i'm going to compartmentalize it and just focus on the tasks at hand and there were areas look i i think compartmentalization gets a bad rap i do think there are areas where it's actually tremendously helpful but with some now my my my take is a little bit more nuanced where i think with some work

It's good to go into the box to rearrange some stuff, to sort through some stuff, to organize it. But I actually think there is a value to having some stuff in boxes and to compartmentalize, because I also don't want to spend my days reliving and rehashing and just analyzing those experiences. I'm not doing her any favors.

It's good to go into the box to rearrange some stuff, to sort through some stuff, to organize it. But I actually think there is a value to having some stuff in boxes and to compartmentalize, because I also don't want to spend my days reliving and rehashing and just analyzing those experiences. I'm not doing her any favors.

Her greatest joy was seeing me be successful as a CEO, as a startup founder, and whether it was Reddit or anything else. That's what mattered. And so it's a shame, right? She hasn't gotten to see me get married. She hasn't gotten to see me have kids. She hasn't. She'd have been an amazing grandmother. She hasn't gotten to see me build a lot of businesses I've built.

Her greatest joy was seeing me be successful as a CEO, as a startup founder, and whether it was Reddit or anything else. That's what mattered. And so it's a shame, right? She hasn't gotten to see me get married. She hasn't gotten to see me have kids. She hasn't. She'd have been an amazing grandmother. She hasn't gotten to see me build a lot of businesses I've built.