Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian will be appearing on Shark Tank as a panelist on October 22. His impressive resume firstly includes creating Reddit in 2005 alongside Steve Huffman and Aaron Swartz. The site blew up and was purchased by Conde Nast a year later for between $10 to $20million, and he has remained involved with his brand. After selling the popular site, he was ready for a new adventure. In 2007 Serena Williams’ husband launched Breadpig, which helps self-publishers and all proceeds go towards charity. In 2010 he co-founded Initialized Capital, which helps financially assist early-stage startups.
Companies such as Instacart, Opendoor and Coinbase have been invested thanks to Alexis’ brand. Ten years later, Alexis launched 776, which supports startups that think outside the box, and he also began the 776 Foundation which gives back to those in need. He then got involved in the world of sports. In 2024, he kicked off a women’s only track and field competition called Athlos.
© Getty ImagesA year later he became one of the board of directors for the Chelsea Women FC after purchasing a 10% stake in the team. Alexis’ dedication to his career, long hours and experimentation in various fields, literally paid off. The entrepreneur’s net worth is a hefty $150 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. Despite Alexis’ thriving career, the mogul didn’t have a typical success story.
© Getty ImagesIn 2005 during his time as a student at the University of Virginia, he made the bold decision to literally create his own career path. He revealed during Wired‘s Uncanny Valley podcast: “So I’d walked out of the LSAT. I had studied for it, I was getting ready for it and then 20 minutes into it, I walked out. I went to a Waffle House and decided I was just gonna invent a career and be an entrepreneur.”
© Getty ImagesAlongside his roommate Steve, who is the current CEO of Reddit, the two initially had the idea of a mobile food-ordering brand. The pair skipped their trip to Cancun for spring break so that they could hopefully pitch to investor Paul Graham at his lecture called “How to Start a Startup” at Harvard. Paul, who is the creator of Y Combinator, where Alexis later became a partner, rejected their idea but then the unexpected happened only a day later. Paul told them: “Listen, we still don’t like your idea, but we like you guys, so if you’re willing to change your idea, we’ll fund you.”
© Getty ImagesThe once-in-a-lifetime opportunity immediately inspired the driven pair, and they came up with Reddit. The site became a hit with its over 110 million daily users, and to add to that, the brand has an over $40 billion market cap. Alexis shared: “It all started with a Waffle House, and the rest is history.” When it came to his goal of creating his own career, rejection served as redirection toward his dream life.
