Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian weren't looking to change the world when they sat in a room in Medford, Massachusetts, during their senior year at UVA. They just wanted to build something that worked. Reddit started as a failed pitch for a mobile food ordering app called MyMobileMenu. Paul Graham, the Y Combinator legend, rejected the food idea but told the duo they should build the "front page of the internet" instead. That was 2005. Today, Reddit is a multibillion-dollar public company, but the story of the founders of Reddit is messy, tragic, and far more complicated than the polished PR versions you usually read.
The original vision (and the third guy you forgot)
Most people know Steve and Alexis. Steve was the coder; Alexis was the marketing and "hype" man. But there was a third person in that early mix: Aaron Swartz. He wasn't there on day one, technically. Swartz joined through a merger with his company, Infogami, just months after Reddit launched.
It’s kinda wild to think about how different they all were. Huffman was obsessed with the architecture of the site, focusing on the Lisp programming language (and later Python). Ohanian was the one traveling to universities with stickers, literally hand-placing the Reddit alien logo on every surface he could find to build a brand out of thin air. Swartz was the activist, the prodigy who had helped build RSS at age 14.
The chemistry was explosive. Not always in a good way.
Reddit was sold to Condé Nast in 2006 for somewhere between $10 million and $20 million. By today's standards, that's a rounding error for a site with its influence. Huffman and Ohanian were barely 23. They were rich, sure, but they were also essentially employees of a massive magazine conglomerate that didn't really "get" the internet. Swartz was fired or left—depending on who you ask—shortly after the move to San Francisco. His story ended in tragedy years later, but his influence on Reddit’s DNA of free speech and open information remains a core part of the site’s identity, even as it corporate-izes.
The dark ages and the return
After their initial stint, the founders actually left. They went off to do other things. Ohanian focused on venture capital and activism. Huffman co-founded Hipmunk. Meanwhile, Reddit was becoming a chaotic, lawless place. It was the era of "The Fappening" and controversial subreddits that made the site a nightmare for advertisers.
The site was being run by Yishan Wong and then Ellen Pao. Pao, in particular, became the target of intense, often vitriolic harassment from the user base. It was a mess. The community was in open revolt.
In 2015, Steve Huffman came back as CEO.
It was a "prodigal son" moment. He had to professionalize a platform that had spent a decade priding itself on being unprofessional. He started the long, painful process of "cleaning up" Reddit. This meant banning some of the most toxic communities, a move that many long-time users saw as a betrayal of the original vision of the founders of Reddit. But from a business perspective? It was the only way to survive. You can't sell ads next to some of the stuff that used to be on the front page.
Steve Huffman: The Architect
Huffman, known as "spez" on the platform, is a polarizing figure. He’s the guy who has to balance the radical openness of the site with the demands of Wall Street. It’s a thankless job. He's been caught in scandals, like the time he edited user comments that were criticizing him. He apologized, but it highlighted the weird, god-like power a founder-CEO has over a digital community.
He isn't your typical charismatic Silicon Valley leader. He’s a dev at heart. He thinks in terms of systems. When he talks about Reddit, he talks about "human connection at scale." It’s a nice phrase, but the reality is more about moderation tools, API pricing, and data scraping for AI training.
Alexis Ohanian: The Mayor
If Steve is the engine, Alexis was the chrome. Ohanian, or "kn0thing," was the face of the site for years. He’s the one who married Serena Williams and became a household name. He eventually stepped down from the Reddit board in 2020, specifically asking to be replaced by a Black candidate in the wake of the George Floyd protests. Michael Seibel of Y Combinator took his seat.
Ohanian’s departure marked a clean break from the "old" Reddit. He’s moved into "776," his venture firm, focusing on things like women's sports and tech startups. He still posts, he still engages, but he’s no longer the one steering the ship. He represents the idealistic era of the internet—the time when we thought stickers and community would fix everything.
What actually happened with the IPO?
In 2024, Reddit finally went public. For the founders of Reddit, this was a two-decade-long journey. The IPO was unique because they actually let "Redditors" (the users) buy into the initial offering, which is usually reserved for big banks.
It was a risky move. Users are fickle. But the stock performed. It turned Reddit from a "weird social experiment" into a legitimate media powerhouse. It also solidified Huffman's control. But the question remains: is the Reddit of 2026 still the Reddit that Steve and Alexis built in their dorm room?
Honestly? No. It can't be.
The original Reddit was built on a skeleton crew. Now, it's thousands of employees and complex algorithms. The founders' role has shifted from "building a cool tool" to "managing a global town square."
Misconceptions about the start
- They were rich kids. Not really. They were just talented students. They got a few thousand dollars from Y Combinator to survive on noodles and code.
- Reddit was an overnight success. It wasn't. For the first few months, Steve and Alexis created dozens of fake accounts to submit content so the site didn't look empty. They literally "faked it 'til they made it."
- The founders still own the whole thing. No. Between the sale to Condé Nast, various funding rounds, and the IPO, their ownership stakes were diluted significantly over the years, though Huffman still holds massive influence.
Actionable insights for observers
If you're looking at the founders of Reddit as a blueprint for your own career or business, here’s the real talk.
- Adapt or die. The transition from MyMobileMenu to Reddit happened in days. If you're stuck on a bad idea, kill it. Paul Graham’s advice only worked because they were willing to listen and pivot instantly.
- Community is a double-edged sword. You can build a brand on community (like Alexis did with stickers and engagement), but that same community will turn on you the moment you try to monetize or moderate them. You need thick skin.
- Technical debt is real. Huffman has talked at length about the struggles of rebuilding Reddit’s infrastructure while the site was live. Build it right the first time, or prepare for a decade of headaches later.
- Ownership isn't everything. They sold early. Many people call that a mistake given Reddit’s current valuation. But that $10M+ sale in 2006 gave them the freedom to explore other ventures and eventually return on their own terms. Sometimes, taking the "smaller" win early is what sets you up for the legacy win later.
The story of the Reddit founders is a reminder that the internet isn't just code. It’s people. It’s ego, it’s tragedy, it’s stickers, and it’s a lot of long nights in 2005 wondering if anyone would ever click the upvote button. They did. And they haven't stopped since.
To understand Reddit today, you have to look at its creators—not as myths, but as guys who were just trying to find a better way to waste time online.
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Next Steps for Deep Research:
Check out the book "We Are the Nerds" by Christine Lagorio-Chafkin. It’s arguably the most detailed, non-PR-filtered account of the site's history. Also, look up the original Y Combinator application for Reddit—it's a masterclass in simplicity. Finally, track the SEC filings from the 2024 IPO to see exactly how the corporate structure looks now compared to the "three guys in a room" era.