Reddit co-founder sees amazing tech opportunity

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Rochester Institute of Technology is bringing to campus a major tech entrepreneur who started three successful companies, all by the age of 33.

Alexis Ohanian is the keynote speaker for RIT’s Saunders College William D. Gasser lecture series—a series held annually that aims to advance interaction and dialogue between business and academic communities.

Ohanian, 33, is the co-founder of Reddit Inc., a popular social media and social news aggregation site; Hipmunk Inc., a travel search engine; and Breadpig Inc., an online marketplace targeting geeks.

Ohanian has been part of more than 80 tech startups, given a TED talk, was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in technology for two consecutive years and has been included in Inc. magazine’s 30 under 30.

Ohanian talked to the Rochester Business Journal to discuss his expectations for his visit. An edited transcript of the interview is below.

ROCHESTER BUSINESS JOURNAL: What are some of the key points you want to cover in your talk? What do you hope students/community members take away from it?

ALEXIS OHANIAN: There’s an amazing opportunity in the world right now in tech, and it’s open to those who are ready to put in the work to seize it. The best part is that you don’t have to wait, and I’ll lay out that blueprint in my talk, as well as give a glimpse into how I think the social web will evolve in the next few years.

RBJ: Why do you think “thinking like a startup” is relevant to businesses today? Should established businesses still keep that mentality?

OHANIAN: Every company needs to be thinking of itself like a startup or they’ll risk getting usurped by someone who is. If you’re not making something people want, you’re going to have a bad time—especially in this age of authenticity.

RBJ: What do you see as one of the biggest challenges facing startups today?

OHANIAN: Too much hype. There are a lot of founders still seduced by the idea of starting a startup and not focusing on the two things that matters: writing code (improving the product) and talking to users (getting customers).

RBJ: What was one thing that surprised you about the process it took to start Reddit? Any advice you’d give to young entrepreneurs in Rochester?

OHANIAN: I’m still learning new things. Back then, we really didn’t expect to be building something for hundreds of millions of people one day. Our goal was to not embarrass ourselves and now we’re working toward billions of users. Young entrepreneurs in Rochester need to take advantage of all the freedom they have right now, surround themselves with people who motivate and inspire them, have ideas and do them.

Ohanian’s lecture, “Think Like a Startup: Insights from a Digital Entrepreneur and Startup Investor,” is scheduled for 2 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Student Alumni Union’s Ingle Auditorium. 

The event is open to the public and costs $5 for students; $10 for parents, alumni, faculty/staff and guests. Doors open at 1 p.m.

To register, go to saunders.rit.edu/reddit.

Ohanian will sign copies of his book “Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed,” in the Saunders College Atrium, Lowenthal Hall following his keynote speech.

10/7/2016 (c) 2016 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or email [email protected].