Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian gets honest about how his 'awkward' job as a teenage 'pimply dork' helped his confidence

Serena Williams' husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian shared a humorous yet insightful reflection on his first job as a teenager. Before building one of the most influential online platforms, Ohanian worked at SIDEA, a company contracted by CompUSA, a now-defunct computer retail chain.

As a shy, acne-prone 14-year-old, he was tasked with demonstrating software and hardware to customers - a daunting experience that ultimately became his unintentional training ground for public speaking. Ohanian credits this early job for helping him develop the confidence that later fueled his success in business and public life.

In a video shared on X, Ohanian reflected on his teenage struggles and the lessons learned from his time at SIDEA. Ohanian revealed that his first job was far from glamorous. Like many teenagers, he struggled with self-consciousness, especially while dealing with acne and puberty.

"My first real job was a company called SIDEA, and it was a company that was hired by CompUSA to put on in-store demos of software, hardware, peripherals," Serena Williams' husband explained. "So imagine I was like 14 years old, going through puberty, acne, and voice cracking. Basically lived the worst public speaking experience over and over and over again until my shift ended. No one in a CompUSA wanted to hear some pimply dork."

Despite the initial awkwardness, he recognized the value of those experiences, adding:

"It was incredibly helpful for building my confidence, building Reddit. People would always ask, ‘Oh my god, you're so comfortable on stage. How?’ I got those 10,000 hours in while I was in high school."

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Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian credits his mother for diverting him from a future as a ‘professional waiter’

In Picture: Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian (Source: Getty)

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian credited his late mother’s advice for steering him away from a career as a professional waiter.

Speaking on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, Ohanian recalled his high school job at Pizza Hut, where his boss suggested he move to New York and work as a server. Excited by the idea, he told his parents about skipping college, but while his father remained silent, his mother offered practical guidance.

"I told this woman I wanted to be a professional waiter in high school cause I was so good serving at Pizza Hut. My boss Tony, he was like, 'Hey, you know what, instead of going to college, I think you could do this full time. I was like, 'I could move to New York.' He was like, 'You could move to New York. You can make a great career out of this,'" Serena Williams' husband said.

"And so I remember going home and telling my parents, I was like, 'I'm thinking about not going to college.' And the last thing you would tell an Armenian dad is that you're not going to go to college. Just to be clear. And my dad, to his credit, didn't say anything," he added.

Believing in his potential but urging caution, she advised him to create a budget to see if a server’s salary could sustain him. In hindsight, Alexis Ohanian acknowledged that her wisdom led him to abandon the plan.