"Making pancakes and showing up to beat your a*s": Serena Williams's husband Alexis Ohanian reflects on balancing business success with dad duty

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, recently discussed balancing family life with his business success. The 41-year-old also addressed colleagues questioning his professional commitment due to his active involvement with his family.

Ohanian and Williams have shared much of their lives with fans. The couple met in 2015 and married two years later. Their eldest daughter, Olympia, was born two months before their wedding, and their younger daughter, Adira, was born last year.

Ohanian is a renowned tech entrepreneur who co-founded the social media platform Reddit in 2005. After leaving the company, he established his venture capital firm, Seven Seven Six, in 2021.

Despite his professional commitments, Ohanian balances them well with family time, particularly with his daughters. Additionally, the Reddit co-founder has established a tradition of making pancakes for Olympia, often sharing images and videos of his creations on social media.

Speaking with American soccer player Taylor Smith on her "Culture and Chaos" podcast, Ohanian explained why being a good father has never stopped me from being the best on the job.

"I get strangers now who stop me. They don't stop me for Reddit, they stop me for my pancake art, and they are like "yo dude I love your pancakes man." And I'm like thank you, I enjoy making them."

Serena Williams' husband further expressed frustration with business peers who underestimate his dedication, finding it amusing that they doubt his ability to excel at work and family.

"At the same time I have business folks I work with and I've got guys who sincerely think I am not nearly as committed as I am to success at work, because they know that side of my persona. And it's so wild, because I am like bro I know I outwork you, I know my returns are better than you. But I think it's cute that you have this idea that I can't be showing up for my kids, making some pancakes and also showing up to beat your a*s."

Watch the clip shared by Ohanian on X.

---

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian revealed why he didn't name his firm after Olympia

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian revealed why he didn't name his firm after Olympia - Source: Getty

In August, Serena Williams' husband Ohanian revealed that he chose not to name his firm after Olympia, following Serena Williams' advice, to prevent jealousy between their daughters in the future. Instead, he decided "776," inspired by the year of the first ancient Olympic Games.

“I didn’t name it Olympia Capital because my wife wisely pointed out that if we’d had another kid, spoiler we do have another kid, they would be jealous. Instead, thinking back to my ancient Greek history classes, 776 BCE was the year of the first ancient Olympic Games. The domain was available and I just went with 776,” he said.

The 41-year-old shared this story in an Instagram video.

Ohanian is a strong advocate for women's sports and, through his venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, invested in Athlos NYC, a recently held women-only track and field event.