How a Waffle House Encounter Catapulted Alexis Ohanian to Tech Fortune

Had Alexis Ohanian not exited his LSAT exam merely 20 minutes into the test to grab a bite at Waffle House, Reddit may never have come into existence. In 2005, while attending the University of Virginia, Ohanian, currently married to tennis icon Serena Williams, decided to pivot away from a legal career he had meticulously prepared for. This pivotal moment, which he recounted on Wired’s “Uncanny Valley” podcast, shaped his entrepreneurial journey. “After leaving the LSAT, I resolved to forge a new path,” Ohanian remarked. Teaming up with his college roommate, Steve Huffman, they initially sought to innovate in mobile food ordering, pitching their idea to investor Paul Graham of Y Combinator. Although unimpressed with their concept, Graham offered them another opportunity if they could present a stronger idea. Thus, Reddit emerged, a platform empowering users to share content, driven by a gamified Karma system that elevates visibility through community engagement. The site’s acquisition by Condé Nast in 2006 for $10 million marked its rapid ascent in digital space. Now recognized among America’s Big Tech giants, Reddit went public in March 2024, with shares soaring significantly on debut and generating impressive revenue growth.