Alexis Ohanian

Who they are

Alexis Ohanian is Founder and General Partner at Seven Seven Six — co-founded Reddit in 2005, then built Athlos, a global women's track and field league, and Angel City Football Club.

Person

Ohanian graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005 and, right out of college, co-founded Reddit with Steve Huffman and Aaron Swartz — handling the non-technical side while Huffman wrote the code. He rejoined Reddit as Executive Chairman years later before stepping down. In between, he was a Partner at Y Combinator and a Kiva Fellow, then co-founded Initialized Capital with Garry Tan in 2012, backing early-stage companies. He founded Seven Seven Six in 2020 when it was filing for its inaugural $150M Fund 1, building it explicitly like a technology company — it now has over $1 billion in assets under management. Alongside the fund he's built or co-owned a cluster of ventures: Angel City Football Club (founding control owner), Athlos (a global women's track and field league launched in 2024), Los Angeles Golf Club (founding control owner), Breadpig (a geeky merchandise 'uncorporation' donating proceeds to charity), the 776 Foundation (launched 2022, focused on marginalized communities and climate), and the Business Dad podcast at businessdad.com. He wrote the national bestselling book 'Without Their Permission,' covering the Reddit founding and an entrepreneur's blueprint, and posts actively on LinkedIn about AI agents, women's sports, and fatherhood. The through-line is a conviction that the internet — and increasingly capital — should be structurally open, and a habit of building the institution rather than just funding it.

Network

Ohanian's closest named collaborators go back to founding moments: Steve Huffman (Reddit co-founder) and Aaron Swartz (also Reddit co-founder) from 2005, and Garry Tan (co-founder of Initialized Capital) from 2012. On the portfolio side, he has publicly backed early-stage founders including Megan Duong, and amplified companies such as Starcloud, Emerge Career, and LNK Energies through his 776 platform.

Steve Huffman· Co-founder, Reddit
Aaron Swartz· Co-founder, Reddit
Garry Tan· Co-founder, Initialized Capital
Megan Duong· Early-stage founder backed by 776

How they likely show up

Co-founded Reddit, Initialized Capital, 776, Athlos, Angel City FC, Breadpig, and the 776 Foundation across two decades → builds institutions, not just investments; serial institution-founding is the default mode.
Founded 776 explicitly to be 'built like a technology company' → applies product thinking to fund operations, not just portfolio companies.
Active LinkedIn poster on AI agents, women's sports, and fatherhood, plus a national bestselling book and conference circuit (SXSW London 2026, Milken 2025, MIT Sloan Sports Analytics) → comfortable at the intersection of public narrative and deal-making; visibility is part of the strategy.
Role type is 'hybrid' across operator, investor, and owner roles → unlikely to stay in a purely advisory lane; expects to shape outcomes, not just observe them.
Business Dad podcast at businessdad.com launched 2024 → integrates personal identity (fatherhood) into professional platform; don't expect him to silo the two.
Backed Athlos and Angel City FC as founding control owner — both in women's sports — before the category was consensus → makes conviction bets early and is willing to build the asset himself if no one else will.

Conversation tips

→ Lead with a specific portfolio company or Athlos moment — he engages when someone has clearly done the work, not when they ask generic 'what's your thesis' questions.
→ Women's sports is not a casual interest; it's a multi-entity capital commitment — treat it as seriously as you'd treat his VC thesis.
→ He has been publicly early on AI agents; if that's relevant, come with a specific view rather than broad enthusiasm — he'll want to debate the texture, not the headline.
→ Reference the Business Dad podcast or fatherhood angle only if it's genuinely relevant — he's integrated it publicly, so it's fair game, but don't use it as a rapport trick.
→ He has years of internet-freedom advocacy behind him; if the meeting touches on platform policy or open internet questions, be prepared — he has strong, sourced opinions.

Toolbox

Openers

Open on Athlos — he launched a global women's track and field league in 2024, not as a sponsorship but as a founding owner. It's a pointed bet that women's sports is undervalued infrastructure, not a PR gesture, and he's building the asset himself.
Ask about the 776 model — he founded it in 2020 specifically to be built like a technology company, not a traditional GP/LP fund. That structural choice is a real differentiator and he'll have a lot to say about why it matters.
Reference his SXSW London 2026 appearance and his LinkedIn posts on AI agents — he's publicly excited about what agents do to the internet's next layer, and coming with a specific angle on that will signal you've been paying attention.

Discovery questions

Athlos launched in 2024 — what's the theory of change there: do you see it as a media asset, a competition format, or something structurally different from how women's sports leagues have been built before?
You built 776 to operate like a technology company — what does that actually mean for how your team makes decisions differently from a conventional fund?
You co-founded Initialized Capital with Garry Tan in 2012 and then started 776 in 2020 — what did you want to do differently the second time, and has it played out the way you expected?

Avoid

Don't ask open-ended 'what's your vision for the future of the internet' questions — he has a book, a podcast, a conference circuit, and years of LinkedIn posts on exactly that; come with a specific angle or you'll get the stump speech.

Make it yours