Reddit Creator Alexis Oganyan: The Success Story of the Armenian “Internet Mayor” from Brooklyn

Photo: Auroraprize

Magazine Forbes He called an American with Armenian roots, the founder of a social network Reddit Alexis Ohanian’s “mayor of the Internet” and for two years in a row included his name on the list "30 before 30»As a successful representative of high technology.

Edition Auroraprize told the story of his success.

“It happened that I was born in Brooklyn, but I could have been born in Yerevan or, say, somewhere in Western Armenia. I want my experience to help as many people as possible, but especially to other Armenians, ”says Alexis.

32 is a summer co-founder of the portal. reddit.com, one of the 100 largest internet sites in the world. In 2007, he created it along with his dorm neighbor. Reddit - this is something like a message board and a platform for communication, allowing users to select the materials themselves for viewing. Registered members can post posts, links and other content, while other users can vote for or against these posts, thereby determining their place on the page.

Different topics for discussion are organized into separate branches called subreddits, and include movies, books, news, food and many other topics.

Ohanian has several other successful projects: in 2010, he helped launch a travel site hipmunk.comand founded the same year Das Kapital Capital - a company engaged in financing and consulting start-ups. Site breadpig.com, launched by Alexis in 2008, sells various fun things, most of the profits from this portal go to charity.

Alexis, according to him, considers himself a “lucky guy,” because he once received an education, which helped him then learn on his own.

“The great thing about the tech industry is that everyone has free access to the knowledge that is created. I decided to find out everything, and very likely this became my main investment,” he said.

In 2013, Alexis published a book entitled “Without their permission” (Without their permission), addressed to young entrepreneurs who believe in the future of the Internet as a source of entertainment, profits and support.

Alexis Ohanian, who has Armenian roots, visited Armenia for the first time together with a non-profit organization. Kiva microfunds in 2010 year.

"I always wanted to go back home, and I had this opportunity in 2010, when I decided to leave Reddit To volunteer for 4 of the month Kiva in Armenia, ”he said.

Alexis joined forces with several like-minded people in Armenia and organized the first seminar. TEDx Yerevanin which well-known people shared ideas on how to make the world a better place.

“Before my first trip, my father had never been to Armenia. In fact, I didn’t imagine at all what Armenia was, the only thing I knew was Armenian cuisine. I have many Armenian friends who have been to Armenia, and they all told me that a trip there turned their lives upside down. When I first saw Ararat, I immediately took a picture of it and sent it to my father. I understand that such a photo is an incredible cliché, but this view is indeed inspiring, ”said the entrepreneur.

In 2016, Oganyan met tennis player Serena Williams. After this acquaintance, he began to play tennis and regularly attend matches, although he had never been interested in this sport before.

Photo: Facebook / Serena Williams

Photo: Facebook / Serena Williams

As a result, the couple began dating, and in 2017, they got married. The wedding was attended by sports stars and Hollywood, including Kim Kardashian, who also has Armenian roots. The couple already have a daughter at the age of 3 months.

Photo: Facebook / Serena Williams

Photo: Facebook / Serena Williams

Alexis's father, Chris Ohanian, was born and raised in San Francisco. The family of his mother, Elizabeth Ter-Krikorian, was one of the many deported families who left for Marseille in France. Years later, Elizabeth went to the USA, where she met Alexis's grandfather, John Ohanian, and married him.

“My parents were Armenian, I could tell when someone spoke Armenian, but I myself did not learn the language. My father and mother talked to each other in Armenian, but my sister and I practically did not understand anything, ”recalls Chris Ohanian.

The family of Alexis's grandfather, John Oganyan, moved to the United States from Harput (aka Kharberd, now Turkish Elazig). John's parents lost their families during the Genocide. His mother, Manzar, walked through the Syrian desert on foot, losing her parents and brothers and sisters along the way, and ended up in Aleppo.

His father, Avetis, saw his parents killed.

“Turks attacked Harput. They shot Father Avetis, they shot his mother and they were going to shoot him too. But with them there were two riders and one of them said to the other: “This is just a child, let's leave him!”.

So Avetis was in an orphanage. Then he somehow got to America and settled in Binghampton, in upstate New York, where there was a large Armenian diaspora.

Of all the Oganians, only Avetis survived. He moved to the USA in the 1910's. In one of the many local Armenian newspapers, he read that Manzar, the daughter of the people who lived next door in Harput, is in Aleppo. He found it and moved it to the USA. They were married and had four children: Faith, John, Elsa and Mary. For thirty-two years, Avetis worked in a shoe factory. Over time, he was finally able to buy a small apartment building and rent housing.

“For me, being Armenian is a victory. Each of us who achieved success is a victory over the Genocide: they could not destroy us, could not silence us, we thrive around the world. I'm very proud of all of this, ”says Alexis.

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