Alexis Ohanian, besides having the moniker of the husband of Serena Williams, is also known for co-founding Reddit. He created the platform as soon as he graduated from college in 2005. While the platform was brand new and in competition with other established services, it has reached great heights now. Recently, Ohanian revealed how he set Reddit on the path of success with its first one hundred followers.

While he is not a part of Reddit’s official team anymore, Ohanian is still immensely proud of his creation. As Instagram’s Threads threatens to take away Twitter’s dominance, Ohanian advised both platforms. However, he would be remiss to help the two platforms without showing off the advancement of Reddit above the two.

Serena Williams’ husband on how Reddit rose to prominence

Although he resigned as the CEO of Reddit in 2020, the community-based platform resides in the bloodstream of Serena Williams’ husband. Ohanian worked day and night to make sure the platform reached great heights. His efforts paid off, as Reddit is currently worth $15 billion. While the platform has millions of users now, acquiring the first hundred users became a challenging task for Ohanian.

He recently recollected how he managed to get the first hundred people on Reddit. While in college, Ohanian operated a phpBB-based community forum which acquired over 800 users. However, after he graduated, he decided to make Reddit his main focus. He asked the users on the other platform to transfer to Reddit. To his dismay, not more than 20 users signed up. 

Not giving up, Ohanian accepted the challenge. He said, “Maybe 10, maybe 20 actually created an account and became active users, and that’s just it. You have to expect to kind of scrap and claw your way to those early users. I spent more time than anyone commenting, replying to folks, starting conversations“.

Read more – ‘Offer People a Free Cup of Coffee’- Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Looks Back on Trying Times as a Young Entrepreneur

He further explained that making everyone feel welcome is the way to sustenance. “The way that like a great party host makes sure that everyone at the event feels welcomed and, you know, gets introduced to the right people. That’s the job of any founder and CEO for an early-stage community-based business.”

While he struggled greatly to expand his base in 2005, the platform grew beyond his expectations. Currently, with a valuation of $15 billion, Ohanian’s efforts have certainly paid off. 

Watch this story – 18 Years After Floating His $10 Billion Venture, Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Reveals Late Mother’s ‘Timeless Advice’ That Framed His Entrepreneurial Journey