A Q&A with reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian
Join Fast Company's Miles Kohrman at 12:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, October 8, for a live chat with reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian about his new book, "Without Their Permission."
In his new book, "Without Their Permission," Ohanian shares his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
by Jess Hullinger
Alexis Ohanian is best known as a cofounder of reddit, but creating the “front page of the Internet” is only a small part of his fast-growing résumé. In the last five years, Ohanian has founded and advised numerous startups and played a pivotal role in the fight against Congress’s controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA).
He belongs to a new generation of young and energetic Internet innovators who use their influence for philanthropic, entrepreneurial, and political causes.
Today, Ohanian joins us to discuss his new book, "Without Their Permission." Together, we’ll explore the humble beginnings of one of the world’s most popular websites, the fight for an open Internet, and everything in between.
You can start submitting your questions ahead of time by using the "Make a comment" box below.
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Okay, now we're going to segue into questions from readers. A lot of them are about reddit, something we haven't really discussed yet.
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view from my judge's seat at nycgenerationtech.com - proud to be a part!
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Harvesting subreddits for content? I don't know what you're talking about.
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Katy, it's all good. It's been happening for years now and fortunately people are getting better about at least citing. Even Gawker has grudgingly started putting "via reddit" at the bottom of articles they've harvested. There's really nothing that can be done about it, but hope people do the right thing. Social media platforms like reddit, twitter, tumblr, etc are always going to be able to discover and create new content faster and more creatively than even a room full of the smartest, wittiest, best-smelling editors and writers.
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I wasted hours making this terrible business card. HOURS.
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If you're an early stage entrepreneur, your job is to obsessively do two things:
1. Write code (build the product/service)
2. Get users (hustle the product/service) -
It is invisible because I do not have one.
Phonecalls are the devil. Really you just need my email, so I'm in the habit of collecting a card from someone and pinging them there OR just emailing them from my smartphone right on the spot. Ta-Da! No cards. But if you insist on carrying some deadtree in your pocket just go to moocards and be done with it. -
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(Also relevant: Books are the new business cards.)
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Interesting.... I've never really thought of this. My *hope* is that software + hardware companies are difference from auto manuf. and insurance, but given how much the world depends on Google (and to some extent Apple) I see what you're saying. Let's hope they keep printing money? I'd be more concerned about the GOOG only because there is so much of our everyday lives (private and public) tied into google that it feels much more likely to be a 'too big to fail' candidate.... Way to bring me down, KimboSlyce.
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Yes, but I'm lucky because the founders I meet with tend to be really amazing. Doing signings at the first few book events has been like doing open office hours to some extent because there are so many hungry entrepreneurs who I love chatting up. I'm hopelessly addicted to coffee, though, so that probably helps, too. Biggie taught me to always stay hungry, like I'm an intern, and treat every day like it's my first day -- so it does feel pretty much the same, even though I'm definitely older and have more senior moments these days.
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Some added context: In his question, Leroy is referring to Paul Graham, the founder of Y Combinator.
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Yes, you bring up a good point. There's a great John Gilmore quote about this "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it."
The internet is a resourceful platform, but we as humans are also pretty damn resourceful. One way or another, just like Chinese activists circumvent the "Great Firewall" every day, people will continue to find ways to keep the internet going and keep getting to the ideas they want to express and consume. -
How have you found people best stand out in the internet? Is it purely about virality or can a truly good concept make it into the right hands of decision makers?
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it's a gift and a curse, but the best ideas don't always win.
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But good ideas can (and do) get to decision makers -- my favorite example would be the SOPA/PIPA fight, which was declared inevitable by so many experts in DC, until a bunch of us, millions of people, made it unthinkable. We defeated $94M in lobbying from the entertainment industry and did so with an entirely leader-ful movement from the grassroots level (shamless: read all about it in my book ;))
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You can definitely start it as a side hustle -- many before you have! The cost of starting companies these days is almost trivial -- it's cheaper to pay a cellphone bill than to host your first website. And many platforms -- etsy, kickstarter, creativemarket, shopify etc etc etc are marketplaces for talented people to (for nothing) start their own small empire. See what I did there? I'm sorry.
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Also relevant: Shocking stats about who's really starting companies in America.
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Apologies for the radio silence! We're going to take a short break while Alexis finishes up what he's doing and finds a solid internet connection. We'll send out a tweet from @FastCompany to let you know when we're back.
Thank you all for your participation! -
Even big companies and startups find 'hiring good talent' as a big challenge.
As I'm single and working on my idea, how can I find right people through online as I can't find anyone around me? What are all the thing that I need to look for in my co-worker for my project? -
Yes, maccabeam, you should totally be like Grace Hopper. Obviously this also means use your best judgement and behave responsibly, but this cuts down on so much of the unnecessary bureaucracy that gets in the way of progress at so many large organizations. People need a bit of freedom to take risks, and sometimes fail, if they're going to improve and innovate.
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Alexis, we're going to take one more question and call it a day.
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Oh hai Austin. When legislation that *only* serves to protect incumbents gets in the way of innovation, it's a sign that something's wrong. It's a shame because the content industry has long decided to deal with changes in consumer preference and technology by legislating instead of innovating.
I'm reminded of my dad at the dinner table while I was growing up -- he'd just started his own travel agency at a time when the internet (and Online Travel Agencies) were changing his entire industry. Many agents went out of business, but the ones who survived (like my dad) adapted to the new world. I could never have imagined my dad throwing up his hands and saying "Boohoo! The internet is changing everything, I need to call my lawyer and lobbyist and get the laws changed to preserve my business model."
Yet this is exactly what the content industry has done for decades. Mark my words, the companies that are *innovating* today, with CEOs who openly say "piracy is a service problem" and are building services that customers will pay for because it's easier&better are the ones who'll be around in a decade -- and thriving. -
And with that, we say goodbye. Thanks for joining us Alexis!
