Alexis Ohanian

I want to keep building things. And instead of actually making the case for the engineering team to go and build, in this case, it was a mobile app. So if you can believe it, in 2009, 2010, there was this new thing called the iPhone. And some people were talking about how it was going to be the future of computing.

I want to keep building things. And instead of actually making the case for the engineering team to go and build, in this case, it was a mobile app. So if you can believe it, in 2009, 2010, there was this new thing called the iPhone. And some people were talking about how it was going to be the future of computing.

Now, I was one of those people who, hook, line, and sinker, was like, this is a big deal. And if we're building Reddit to be the destination for what's new and interesting on the internet, we need a mobile app. Now, engineering team did not agree, because the way things had always worked, it was fine on the browser. It worked great on the browser. The company was growing.

Now, I was one of those people who, hook, line, and sinker, was like, this is a big deal. And if we're building Reddit to be the destination for what's new and interesting on the internet, we need a mobile app. Now, engineering team did not agree, because the way things had always worked, it was fine on the browser. It worked great on the browser. The company was growing.

Why change it if it ain't broken? And instead of doing what I should have done, which would have been better leadership, which is actually bring folks in, win them over, make the case, get the buy-in, and then change the product plan, I just hired a freelance team to go and build it. Because... I made a half step of an effort to make the case and do the right thing as a mature manager.

Why change it if it ain't broken? And instead of doing what I should have done, which would have been better leadership, which is actually bring folks in, win them over, make the case, get the buy-in, and then change the product plan, I just hired a freelance team to go and build it. Because... I made a half step of an effort to make the case and do the right thing as a mature manager.

And when I wasn't getting the progress I wanted, my impatience and my relentlessness was like, I can hire other people to build it. We'll just build it. And it worked. We shipped it. Reddit had a mobile app called iReddit. And it was doing well. I was really happy with that pun. I hope people would say iReddit on Reddit. I don't know if anyone's ever said that. But that was the hope.

And when I wasn't getting the progress I wanted, my impatience and my relentlessness was like, I can hire other people to build it. We'll just build it. And it worked. We shipped it. Reddit had a mobile app called iReddit. And it was doing well. I was really happy with that pun. I hope people would say iReddit on Reddit. I don't know if anyone's ever said that. But that was the hope.

But then a year later,

But then a year later,

i leave you know the handcuffs had come off and fully vested and then what happened the app died because there was no one left to support it and there was no institutional buy-in and so imagine four years later five years later i come back and now it's 2014 and everyone knows you need a you need a mobile app you have to have a mobile app and the culture of reddit is still solidly desktop is only what matters why do we need a mobile app and i'm like

i leave you know the handcuffs had come off and fully vested and then what happened the app died because there was no one left to support it and there was no institutional buy-in and so imagine four years later five years later i come back and now it's 2014 and everyone knows you need a you need a mobile app you have to have a mobile app and the culture of reddit is still solidly desktop is only what matters why do we need a mobile app and i'm like

I failed. I failed. We had this five years ago, and yet here we are, and we actually now need to do it right this time, actually get the buy-in, actually bring in the folks. We finally shipped an app probably a year later. So it was an unwillingness to actually lead, and it was a relentless desire to just – keep moving forward with or without an actual team.

I failed. I failed. We had this five years ago, and yet here we are, and we actually now need to do it right this time, actually get the buy-in, actually bring in the folks. We finally shipped an app probably a year later. So it was an unwillingness to actually lead, and it was a relentless desire to just – keep moving forward with or without an actual team.

And that is a terrible way to be a CEO. Terrible. It's something frankly, I think I still struggle with in a lot of ways. I will never be hanging out on a beach. I will never retire. I love the work that I do. Yeah, if I do it well, I get very well rewarded for it. And that helps. But it's not about that. I love the work that I do. It's very satisfying.

And that is a terrible way to be a CEO. Terrible. It's something frankly, I think I still struggle with in a lot of ways. I will never be hanging out on a beach. I will never retire. I love the work that I do. Yeah, if I do it well, I get very well rewarded for it. And that helps. But it's not about that. I love the work that I do. It's very satisfying.

It's something I genuinely would want to do all the time. And my wife knows this. And she's someone who knows a thing or two about relentlessness and hard work. But even she would admit and has said on numerous occasions at the dinner table that sometimes I take it a little too far.

It's something I genuinely would want to do all the time. And my wife knows this. And she's someone who knows a thing or two about relentlessness and hard work. But even she would admit and has said on numerous occasions at the dinner table that sometimes I take it a little too far.

Swear to God. And I actually had an LP, so one of our investors. So about 10% of the money we invest out of 776 is my money. But then 90% of it is from institutions, universities, all values aligned, good folks. And I had one of our LPs casually be like, oh, hey, I heard you were, or I saw you were at the Olympics. Looked like it was a lot of fun.

Swear to God. And I actually had an LP, so one of our investors. So about 10% of the money we invest out of 776 is my money. But then 90% of it is from institutions, universities, all values aligned, good folks. And I had one of our LPs casually be like, oh, hey, I heard you were, or I saw you were at the Olympics. Looked like it was a lot of fun.