How Reddit Became "The Front Page of the Internet" ft. Founder Steve Huffman

Reddit is one of the largest and most culturally influential sites on the internet—and its journey is one of the most unusual company stories in internet history. College roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian founded Reddit in 2005 and scaled it on a shoestring until Condé Nast acquired it the following year. Struggling for direction under its parent company, the founders left, and Condé Nast ultimately spun it out as an independent company once again. With Reddit buckling under user discontent in 2015, founder Steve Huffman returned as CEO to save the company and navigate the way forward. Over the following nine years, Reddit stabilized and the company’s revenue grew more than 50-fold to a successful IPO 19 years in the making.

Host: Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital
Featuring: Steve Huffman, Alexis Ohanian, Chris Slowe, Jen Wong, Alfred Lin

Learn more here: https://www.cruciblemoments.com/episo...

00:00 - Introduction
02:51 - The Birth of Reddit: From Rejection to Reinvention
04:46 - Launching a New Era of User Generated Content
06:23 - The Evolution of Community
08:13 - Subreddits and Early Challenges
12:03 - Condé Nast’s Move to Acquire Reddit
13:03 - Reddit’s Crucible Decision: The $10 Million Acquisition by Condé Nast
17:52 - The Founders’ Departure
19:02 - The Launch of Reddit Gold and Reddit’s Spin-Out from Condé Nast
21:44 - Community Crises
24:50 - The Great Reddit Blackout of 2015
27:49 - Steve Huffman’s Crucible Decision: Returning to Reddit
28:47 - Redefining Reddit’s Content Policy
31:39 - From Crisis to Sustainable Business
34:31 - Reddit’s Shift to an Advertising-Based Business Model
35:37 - Anonymity and Brand-Safe Advertising
36:46 - Growth, IPO and the Power of Community
41:00 - Navigating Crisis and Appreciating the Calm at Reddit