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How Reddit Became "The Front Page of the Internet" ft. Founder Steve Huffman
@ Sequoia Capital
09/26/24
Takeaways
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
The team decided not to change anything about Reddit because they didn't understand how it worked, fearing that changes might break it. However, I told them that if we don't change, we're dead, and that's why I'm here—to save Reddit.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Reddit was founded in 2005 by college roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, initially as a mobile food ordering app idea, but it evolved into a platform for sharing and discussing topics.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
After being rejected by Y Combinator with their initial idea, we were invited to join the program under the condition that we work on something else, which led to the creation of Reddit.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Reddit's name comes from the phrase 'I read it on Reddit,' and it was designed as a user-friendly platform for sharing and discussing topics in one centralized place, which was a novelty in 2005.
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Alfred Lin
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Reddit combined elements of social bookmarking from Delicious and community engagement from Slashdot, creating a unique platform that had never been seen before.
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Chris Slowe
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
As Reddit grew, the cohesive community began to fracture, leading to the creation of subreddits, which allowed for diverse interests and discussions to thrive separately.
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Chris Slowe
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
The first subreddit created intentionally to foster a different community was the programming subreddit, as the popularity of political content was overshadowing other topics.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
In 2006, major tech companies like Google and Yahoo began expressing interest in acquiring Reddit, highlighting its growing presence in the online space.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Condé Nast acquired Reddit for $10 million, presenting a crucial decision for the founders: to sell to an established media company or gamble on Reddit's potential as part of the internet's future.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
The acquisition offer from Condé Nast felt like an escape for me, as I didn't believe the situation we were in was sustainable; I was just trying to hold everything together.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
By the time of the acquisition discussions, I was working 16-hour days, balancing my responsibilities at Reddit with my graduate studies, which was a challenging period for me. When I received an offer to sell Reddit for $10 million, I realized I could make life-changing money in just a year of work, which was more than my parents would earn in their entire lives.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
At that time, there wasn't a clear monetization route for Reddit; we didn't have advertising or any real way to generate revenue, so we operated as a lean startup to survive with scarce resources.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
The acquisition by Condé Nast in 2006 was a crucible moment for Reddit, providing liquidity but also revealing the differing priorities of team members after the acquisition.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
One mistake during the acquisition was assuming that advertising would transfer easily to Reddit, which was a very different product compared to others like style.com.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
After the acquisition, Reddit struggled to attract the right talent and resources, leading to my departure to start Hipmunk, while Alexis pursued a career in investing.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
In 2010, we launched Reddit Gold as a subscription service out of desperation to generate revenue since advertising wasn't sufficient, and it surprisingly raised more money in one day than we made in ads that month.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
In 2011, Condé Nast spun Reddit out into an independent company again, which is rare in my experience, allowing us to fundraise and bring in new talent like CEO Yishan Wong.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
From 2012 to 2015, Reddit faced multiple crises, including issues with toxic subreddits and a lack of a clear content policy, leading to community dissatisfaction.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
The great Reddit blackout of 2015 occurred when thousands of moderators made their subreddits private in protest of the company's decisions, marking a significant moment in Reddit's history.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
After the blackout, Ellen Pao resigned as CEO following community backlash, highlighting the challenges of leadership without the moral authority of a founder.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Returning to Reddit in 2015 was the hardest decision I've ever made, as I had to leave Hipmunk, but I felt a strong responsibility to help the company I co-founded. Reddit is more important to the world than many realize, and it would be a shame if it didn't live up to its potential.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Returning as CEO was a crucial moment for me because I had the moral authority to define the company's direction and the community's role.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Reddit needed a content policy to address the issues of banning subreddits and managing content effectively, as prior to that, there was no clear guideline.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
When I returned, I emphasized that if we don't change, we're dead; we had to implement a content policy to ensure Reddit's survival.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
The first content policy was like a convention center where various communities could gather, but we had to draw a line against harmful content.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
We made mistakes in defining our content policy, but enforcing it ultimately improved the platform and set us on a path to recovery.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
In 2018, we began to clean up toxic communities, and the positive response from users indicated we were on the right track.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
With my return, we redesigned the site, moved Reddit onto mobile, and focused on building a sustainable business model.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Reddit transformed from a community social science project into a sustainable business, recognizing that revenue is essential for its operation.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
We chose to pursue advertising as a business model to keep Reddit free and open, aligning with our values and community expectations.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Building an advertising business that respects our community's values was a priority, ensuring it harmonized with our mission.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Reddit's growth from $15 million to $456 million in revenue by 2021 demonstrates the success of our business model and community engagement.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Reddit is now the 18th most visited website globally, showcasing its significant cultural impact and user engagement.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
The agency of users is fundamental to Reddit; they create and rank content, and their capacity for amazing contributions exceeds our expectations.
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Steve Huffman
09/26/24
@ Sequoia Capital
Despite facing numerous crises, we've always managed to navigate through them, reminding ourselves of our mission and the importance of our work.