Business

Opportunity and Commitment

Lesson time 07:36 min

Alexis has a unique perspective as both an entrepreneur and a founder. He talks about his process for identifying business ideas, nailing execution, and streamlining workflow. The only thing you need? The confidence to try.

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Topics include: Remember, We are all Connected • Find Opportunities Everywhere • It's Never been Cheaper to Startup • Astonishing Growth • If you know, you know

Alexis Ohanian

Teaches Building Your Startup

Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian teaches you how to turn an idea into a startup. Get the advice he’s shared through his VC fund, Seven Seven Six.

Preview

- Wait, did we do the clap? I'm just saying, I want to make sure everything's synced. [MUSIC PLAYING] So Tom Friedman has this book and this pretty well-known quote about, the world is flat. And he's talking about globalization. And I know for a fact, one, the world is a sphere. I know we got a flat-Earther thing going on the internet. But let me be clear, folks, world is a sphere. The world wide web, however, is actually flat, really does create a kind of level playing field for ideas that makes my career possible. As an entrepreneur, as an investor, the only way I can show up in Boston with a laptop and an internet connection and go on to build something that now hundreds of millions of people all over the world use, like Reddit, is because that playing field was laid out for me. And I know it is still a fraction of the potential greatness that we missed out on for thousands of years of civilization when the best ideas didn't necessarily win because of all the structural problems, because of all the gatekeepers, because of all of the things that we know can hold a great idea back. The playing field, of course, structurally in our society, is not a level one. I know that I had advantages just by being able to walk into a room, as a 6 foot 5" white dude, and get taken seriously always. The internet is not this magic wand that all of a sudden solves all of society's very real problems. But it does provide a gateway and it does provide a chance for you to take an idea and build something and reach an audience that you wouldn't have been able to reach before. And learn things you wouldn't have been able to learn before. And actually bring to fruition ideas that maybe would have been snuffed out in their earliest days if you had to go through and get someone's authority or permission or sign-off in order to bring them to life. And that's great for entrepreneurs. It's great for artists. It's great for creators of all types. There is a cliche that floats around venture capital that I hate, which is that there's too much money chasing too few good ideas. And I hate it because I know for a fact that it is not true. And the only people who say that are people who do not have networks of great founders. By great founders, I mean someone who is incredibly compelling, someone who deeply understands the market and can empathize with customers, and is capable of getting something created. Maybe not ultimately the one building it, but someone who can recruit them. If you maintain great networks of great founders, what you'll find is that there are amazing ideas birthed every single day. And I'm in the business of finding people and identifying people and their great ideas before anyone else realizes that they're a great idea, and then putting my reputation, my teams' time, our money into helping that CEO bring that idea to fruition. We'll get done shooting this, I will look at my phone, and see a doze...

About the Instructor

In 2005, UVA undergrad Alexis Ohanian envisioned a place online where users connect over subcultures—enter Reddit. That was only the start: From growing billion-dollar companies to championing female founders, Ohanian shaped culture. Now he wants to lead tomorrow’s innovators. Learn how to turn an idea into a startup with advice Alexis has shared with other entrepreneurs through his VC fund, Seven Seven Six.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Alexis Ohanian

Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian teaches you how to turn an idea into a startup. Get the advice he’s shared through his VC fund, Seven Seven Six.

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