The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20VC: Alexis Ohanian on Why Now Was The Right Time To Start Seven Seven Six, The 2 Very Distinct Types of Deals In Venture & The Unbundling of Social in 2021

Nov 19, 2020

Alexis Ohanian, founder of Seven Seven Six and co-founder of Reddit, shares his journey from law school dropout to tech entrepreneur. He discusses pivotal moments that shaped his career, particularly his reflections on wealth and happiness resulting from personal experiences. Alexis explores the two distinct types of venture deals: lower-risk opportunities with established founders and high-risk bets in emerging markets. He also highlights his excitement for investing in disruptive projects like Dispo, a photo-sharing app promoting mindful social interactions.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Waffle House Epiphany

Alexis Ohanian walked out on the LSAT and went to Waffle House.
This pivotal moment led him to co-found Reddit and enter venture capital.

INSIGHT

Departure from Initialized Capital

Alexis Ohanian left Initialized Capital due to differing visions with his co-founder, Gary Tan.
He wanted to build a firm aligned with his values for the future.

ADVICE

VCs are in the NPS Business

VCs should prioritize founder support and view their work as a service.
A strong reputation and high net promoter score are crucial for success.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Alexis Ohanian is the Founder @ Seven Seven Six, his new fund which just recently announced their first investment leading the $4M seed round for Dispo. Prior to founding Seven Seven Six, Alexis was the Co-Founder & Managing Partner @ Initialized Capital, where he backed many a unicorn including Ro, Flexport, Patreon, GOAT just to name a few. Alexis is also the co-founder @ Reddit, commonly referred to as the front page of the internet, their latest valuation priced the company at $3Bn.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

1.) When Alexis left his L Sats to go get waffles, what did he learn about himself? How did that lead to founding Reddit? How did Reddit lead to angel investing? How did that lead to Initialized?

2.) Why did Alexis leave Initialized? Why was now the right time? What worked with Initialized that he has taken with him to Seven Seven Six? What did not work with Initialized that he has learned from? How does he view VC NPS as a result of this and the learnings?

3.) How does Alexis analyse his own relationship to money today? How did his relationship with his mother and her illness impact how he thinks about wealth and happiness? How did he feel when at 22 he sold Reddit? How does he feel about the "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality?

4.) How did having Olympia change how Alexis operates and invests today? How does Alexis define backing projects he would be proud to talk to Olympia about? How does he feel about the type of deals many investors make today?

5.) How did Alexis first meet PG from YC? How did he feel when he heard he believed in him and Steve with Reddit? How did that change how Alexis feels about being the first person to really back someone?

Item’s Mentioned In Today’s Episode

Alexis’ Favourite Book: Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction

Alexis’ Most Recent Investment: Dispo

As always you can follow Harry and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!

Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.