9 Quotes on Entrepreneurship and Starting a Business from Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian

This internet entrepreneur can teach you a thing or two about launching a company.

April 18, 2018 3 min read

Internet entrepreneur, angel investor and not to mention the spouse of famed tennis star Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian is one of today's most acclaimed tech entrepreneurs. Born and raised in New York, Ohanian graduated college before co-founding the incredibly popular site, Reddit, at 23 years old.

Of course, just like many entrepreneurs, things weren't smooth sailing for Ohanian. In fact, before creating the news-aggregation site, Ohanian and his co-founder, Steve Huffman, invented a phone-based sandwich ordering app in 2005 -- a concept initially rejected by Y Combinator. However, shortly after, the duo pitched Reddit, which quickly became an internet sensation. Today, Reddit has become the sixth most popular website.

Since Reddit, Ohanian has gone on to launch multiple venture capital firms to help other aspiring entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. When it comes to entrepreneurship, Ohanian is a role model and can teach anyone a thing or two about launching a business.

Here are nine quotes from Ohanian on motivation, pitching, starting a business and more.

On starting a business

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"Take pride in the products you make, the service you provide and the company you build. Give more damns than anyone else." -- Alexis Ohanian

On ideas

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"You might be thinking, 'But what if someone steals my idea?' Trust me: most of us don't have the spare time to start a company with your great idea, and even if we did, it's going to be up to you to outexecute your competitors." -- Alexis Ohanian

On motivation

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"Growing up, I had the words 'LIVES REMAINING: 0' written on the wall of my room. If life were a video game, that's how it'd indicate this is the only chance left." -- Alexis Ohanian

On pitching

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"Pitch tip: Speak confidently about your product, but be able to admit when you need more information and get it to the people you're pitching quickly after the meeting." -- Alexis Ohanian

On mindset

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"My entire career has been built on the understanding that I am not only not the smartest person in the room, I am definitely not the smartest person in the world. And I am instead going to try to create as many opportunities to connect those great ideas and help them be great." -- Alexis Ohanian

On the future

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"If I can accomplish anything in the next however-many years, it is this: To help a generation realize, or to think of themselves not just as consumers, but also creators." -- Alexis Ohanian

On competition

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"There will be constructive critics. And then there will be haters." -- Alexis Ohanian

On perseverance

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"I want to stay hungry. I really believe my resources are best used to help projects that make the world suck less." -- Alexis Ohanian

On empowerment

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"Waking up every morning with a company is a lot of pressure. But when you're aware of what other people are waking up with, it's a whole lot easier." -- Alexis Ohanian