An ailing mother and a sick girlfriend, but he kept his calm, moved on & Reddit was born !

Two guys from University of Virginia- Steve Huffmann and Alexis Ohanian came up with something called ‘the front page of Internet’. With the intent to change the internet world, these graduates met their VC and explained their idea keeping away all their fears. Thus, Reddit was born. Reddit was launched in June 2005 as a platform for programmers but then with the superlative traffic, the platform went main stream. Paul Graham from the Y Combinator was impressed by the zeal of Huffmann and Ohanian and so despite rejecting their initial plan for an internet launch, he gave them a breather to channelize the strategy. Following the philosophies of its founders Steve and Alexis and its investor, Paul, Reddit offers amazing content. It has something for everyone.

In the initial days of shaping Reddit, Ohanian had to pass through dark days, with an ailing mother and a sick girlfriend, it was difficult for him to concentrate on Reddit, but as he says on his blog -“Keep calm and move on.” Eventually, in October 2006, Reddit was acquired by Conde Nast Publications for a sum of $10 million. Considering the revenue ($50,000) that Reddit was monthly generating, the acquisition turned out to be like a cake for a two year stunt with a team of four.As Huffmann says, “being friendly and likeable to customers, investors” any day helps. One of the striking points of Reddit’s content is that, it projects the personality of its founders. Being persistent, keeping calm and being open for ideas- smoothens the road towards success. After the acquisition of Reddit, Ohanian has come up with Breadpig. I guess there is no stopping for an entrepreneur.

From the story of Reddit, it is quite apparent that all it takes is a bit of understanding to positively exploit the opportunity, break the boundaries that you have made for yourself as a student and being customer and investor friendly. For Ohanian, Reddit was more of making a niche in the universe and learning beyond what his University taught him. What about you?Author Credit - Mohita Adhvaryu