"Upvote has become so common": Serena Williams husband Alexis Ohanian reflects on his Reddit brainchild's success during Marvel super hero game stream

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, recently reflected on the inception of Reddit’s widely used 'Upvote' feature. A seasoned entrepreneur, Ohanian often shares his insights and opinions online.

The 41-year-old co-founded the renowned social media platform Reddit with his college roommate Steve Huffman in 2005. Just over a year later, the duo sold the platform to Conde Nast for a staggering $10 million. Additionally, the 'upvote' feature, enabling users to express interest or relevance in a post or comment, was a pivotal addition to the platform.

Ohanian recently streamed Marvel's third-person shooter video game Marvel Rivals on Reddit. While receiving numerous upvotes, he thanked viewers and reflected on how ubiquitous the feature he created in 2005 has become. He shared this on his Instagram.

"Still crazy to me that "upvote" has become so common now. I just made it back in 2005 when I was designing our reddit voting system. Thank you for the upvotes, team. Marvel Rivals is fun btw," he wrote.

Alexis Ohanian's Instagram story; ( Source - Instagram @alexisohanian)

Ohanian has previously shared the experience of selling Reddit and making such a significant sum in a short period, which also allowed him to provide the best care for his mother as she began chemotherapy treatment.

---

"I realized I was in a room that I wasn't aligned with": Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian on leaving Reddit

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian at an event - Source: Getty

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian stepped down from Reddit's board in 2020 in protest against the company's handling of hate speech. Speaking at 'A Bit of Optimism' podcast,' the 42-year-old explained that he left Reddit after realizing his values, such as banning violence and hate communities, didn’t align with the board’s stance.

"I knew one voice out of five on a board, especially for issues that I really felt strongly about like banning violence and banning hate communities, I realized I was in a room that I wasn't aligned with. And these were things that I knew were just right for business and right for society," Ohanian said.

Ohanian vowed never to face such conflicts again, explaining that he independently operates Seven Seven Six without a board.

So, the promise I made, this was four years ago, I was just never going to let myself be in that situation again. Even in building 776 and all the companies I've built, it's just me. There's no board, so to speak, where I could have four other voices telling me like, no, no, no, no, no, no, communities with violence and gore are fine," he added.

Ohanian founded the venture capital firm Seven Seven Six in 2021, managing $1 billion. The firm focuses on deploying venture capital through technology. Recently, with the help of Seven Seven Six, Ohanian organized the all-women track event, Athlos NYC.