Fast Company – May 2019

38 FASTCOMPANY.COM MAY 2019 ILLUSTRATION BY IRINA KRUGLOVA

MY OPERATING

SYSTEM REDDIT

COFOUNDER AND

VENTURE CAPITALIST

ALEXIS OHANIAN

The inventor of the “front page of the

internet” and Initialized Capital cofounder takes

our career questionnaire.

What’s your best habit,
and your worst?
My best is that I’m relentless
about improving—I’m good at
being motivated by criticism.
My worst is saying yes to things
when I should default to no.

When I’m creatively

stuck, I...

Play a quick match of Heroes of

the Storm if my friends are on.

What’s the business

buzzword you never want

to hear or see again?

Hustle porn [the fetishization of

overworking]. It’s my mission to

purge the farce.

What’s the best mistake you

ever made?

Oversleeping that morning in

Rome and meeting my future

wife at breakfast.

When I need to unplug, I...

Hide my phone and play with

my daughter.

What book do you recom-

mend to everyone?

Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-

Five, a sci-fi adventure about the

costs of war and the illusion of

free will. I used it in my history-

major thesis to frame a study of

the 1945 bombing of Dresden.

Vonnegut was a veteran of the

Second World War, and was in

Dresden as a POW when the

bombs fell.

What’s the advice you’re

glad you ignored?

Paul Graham, our first Reddit in-

vestor, and my cofounder [Steve

Huffman] tried to convince me to

get rid of Snoo, the Reddit mascot

I created. I’m grateful I ignored

them, because it’s now iconic.

What advice would you give

your younger self?

Spend more time with your

parents, and don’t be so quick

to grow up and be independent.

What was your career fork

in the road?

I walked out of an LSAT and into

a Waffle House, realizing I didn’t

want to be a lawyer. That’s when

I decided to be an entrepreneur. I

persuaded my [University of Vir-

ginia] roommate to turn down

his job offer and work with me

to build Reddit.

What’s your work uniform

or wardrobe staple?

Black fitted T-shirt. AG jeans.

Atoms or Jordan 1s.

What’s your favorite form

of exercise?

Strength training on free weights

or Tonal. I just installed a heavy

bag in my Florida office.

What TV show are you

mid-binge on?

I was obsessed with the Punisher

comic books as a kid. I’m trying

to savor the second season on

Netflix right now.

What is your mantra?

“Pain is growth.”

What do you send to

congratulate someone?

A bottle of Shakmat! Armenian

brandy should be shared among

friends and loved ones in cel-

ebration.

What’s your

get-pumped song?

“Power,” by Kanye West.

@AOC

A behind-the-scenes

look into Congress

@SERENAWILLIAMS

Also obviously

@REALQAIQAI

[His daughter’s

doll] Obviously

@GARRYTAN

My Initialized

cofounder. I learn

s o m u c h f r o m h i m.

@KIMMAICUTLER

An Initialized

partner and expert

on policy and tech

What are your

five favorite

social media

accounts?