Reddit Co-Founder: The PRICE Most Won't Pay for Success (It's Not What You Think)

the more comfortable you can be in the. discomfort of constant change the better. his co-founder of Reddit Alexis Ohanian. has stepped in the room when we build. any kind of social media platform we are. ultimately deciding what belongs and. what doesn't if you can be equipped and. you can exercise those muscles around. problem solving and learning you will be. at the Forefront for however this. technology changes things what do you. uniquely understand about the human mind.

the number one Health and Wellness. podcast J shett J shett the one the only. Jett what do you uniquely understand. about the human mind that has helped you. get to where you are today the human. mind seeks. community and Reddit was noteworthy. especially in 2005 because it was. pseudonymous right because you you. didn't have to have your government name. didn't have to have your photo at a time. when was building Facebook which was.

very much that and you could come. together not because you have something. to say and you want people to follow you. you come together around community that. is the goal we all love angel City FC We. join that Community we're a part of it. we all love stapling bread to trees. which is a real. subreddit you know everyone's got their. Hobbies we all join we post photos of. the bread stapling we talk about it we. commune and I grew up on the internet I. learned how to code from strangers on. the internet I convinced other strangers.

when I was a teenager to basically pay. me to build websites for them because. HTML building websites was thing I was. very keen of I just enjoyed the design I. enjoyed building and it made me feel. really cool to be a child on these. message boards like a teenager being. able to get paid by adults because I had. a skill they didn't have and so I. learned so much through those. experiences and I learned from video. games leadership skills uh um if you.

believe it and and in building Reddit it. was simply a way to build a better type. of forum that would be a better way for. online community to form and over the. last now 20 years since I look first and. foremost for these things and I think in. a world increasingly more fractured and. divided and where people spend just. frankly more of their time online these. spaces matter even more and it's. something you know for the first. probably 10 years of Reddit most people. didn't think it was possible for people.

to care that much about their online. identity as they did their Offline that. was one of those things that I really. held fast to and and I think today we. sort of take for granted of course. people care in many cases much more. about their online Persona than their. offline one and I just hope to see it. get used for more and more good uh at a. time when like I said there's more. division than ever and the power of. community is still something I think. runs deep in our species and the. Internet is just a new medium to to. connect and hopefully for good since. building and starting it what have you.

been surprised by about Community maybe. something that you believed to be true. about humans but has been disproved or. something that you never knew about. humans that you've discovered early on. people were often very confused why. someone would spend so much of their. free time moderating a community for. free essentially you know Community. Management and I'd often frame it you. know I grew up here in the United States. I Was A Boy Scout there were parents who.

were often involved volunteering for the. Boy Scouts they'd be there for camping. trips they'd be there for meetings. they'd be helping out volunteering their. time and energy for community and so I. really took for granted the fact that if. people wanted to do this offline for. whatever organizations Faith groups Etc. that online these connections matter. just as much even though they may not. feel as real and in fact you can scale. your time so much more efficiently right. you can build the community of literally.

millions of people from your home and. that gives you a sense of purpose and a. feeling of and you know being able to. create this sense of belonging for. people and that's that's really. meaningful I think that is something. that I've Just Seen continue to impress. me I I did not realize the full scale to. which that would actually be working and. then probably the other side of it is. just how. important creating that sense of why for. people is I remember reading the book uh. bowling alone which talked a lot about a.

generation of adults who you know used. to be a part of bowling leagues and. these other things but you saw this. Decline and people in this case it was. it was men but but in general people. needing to find more and more of that. connective tissue in their Community not. having that sense of belonging and I. feel like in a lot of ways the internet. has created great versions of it but at. the same time it's also created these. you know the sort of dystopian versions. of it where you can spend all of that. time absorbed in a world that is online. and miss out I think we have a.

generation of young people who I'm. generalizing here but a lot of whom. don't have the same muscle that they. they have not exercised the same muscles. that we had growing up when it comes to. relating and connecting to their fellow. humans sitting across from them and you. know as the father of two kids it's. something I think about a lot yeah. talking about the two kids I know I know. you love being a dad and yeah it comes. across as such an important priority in. your life as well like how would you go. about explaining the internet to your. kids.

when the time is right I've already had. these conversations with Olympia and she. just turned seven and I try generally I. think my wife and I both we we try not. to talk down to our kids like I really. will explain a concept not like I would. explain it to another 41-year-old but at. least like I I want her to to ask that. follow-up question of like well what is. that or why or how or so I you know and. we've had versions of this. conversation she does not understand the.

internet I mean do I does anyone but. there have been little glimpses that I. have given her into it um but very very. very tightly controlled really the only. time she's ever online right now at 7 is. playing Roblox which she will do either. with me and her mom or some friends from. school she knows the internet basically. as this this basically Roblox yeah and. and a place where she has fun and runs. around and that's it but that's the.

extent of interacting with folks I would. like to put off social media now yes our. kids have social media accounts it's run. by us you know now that she's at an age. of consent uh it's basically just like. you know we're we're quite rarely. putting photos up and it's only because. she's like oh yeah you can you know post. this up but the understanding of it is. social media is something that I I for. as long as poss would like to put off uh. simply because this just isn't. uh I think I think we have gotten so.

good at creating those feedback loops. that bring people back and plenty of. people have written about this and. talked about this and this was one area. where not intentionally but Reddit was. designed differently because it wasn't. about real name and it wasn't about real. photos and it wasn't about hey follow me. let me collect likes it was about hey we. all like this community let's share. things about it that we we care about. but generally speaking it's still a. black box and I'd like to keep it as. much as possible um we even had that. initial.

conversation of why it's so important. you know to only be playing Roblox with. Papa and Mama um that we if we're. playing with anyone if we're talking to. anyone it's only the people like the. three people who we know um and it's. this balance where I don't my take is I. want to expose her to just enough that. she can start to build that resilience. or at least start to understand like. well this is why you don't talk to. random people on the internet while. still trying to preserve some amount of.

of Innocence which is just such an. awesome part of childhood but at the. same time making sure she's stealed for. the reality of of what the world is like. but probably my favorite application of. the internet is every night I'll ask her. a big question and some nights she. really doesn't want to she doesn't have. one and so she'll just look at something. on the table and be like okay where does. salt come from Papa and I be like okay I. see what you did you just looked at the. salt on the table but that's fine we'll. find out and we'll we'll ask AI usually. chat GPT and fired up and and engage in.

this dialogue which you know probably. would have been a Google query a few. years ago but now is way more. interesting and engaging and and I want. her to know like hey you you will have. access to these tools that your papa. could have only dreamed of as a kid that. your grandpa your great grandpa could. have never even imagined they would have. thought they were Wizards and I want you. to know this is a tool this is a. resource for you to use to help you. exercise it's it's a bicycle of the mind. right and it's it's a tool it's not an. end all be all but it's a tool for you. to use that can provide tremendous value.

for you when when Papa doesn't know like. what temperature he needs to take the. ribs off the smoker like he's asking. this because he he's looking for a. solution for an answer but whether. you're curious about salt or you need. some help cooking or you're just curious. about the world like I want her to start. thinking of the internet as a resource. but but not this you know end all Beall. for Learning and for solving problems. but we'll see hey I'm early in the game. I don't know you have to you have to. check back in with me in a decade or two. I did okay it'll feel crazy that in.

2040 the hottest ticket in town will be. a live performance yeah it sucks there's. no such thing as balance you've got it. figure it out you're always never doing. enough the promise that I made to my. kids is the same promise I make to my. team when I'm on the clock for work I'm. going to show up here the best way that. I can when I'm on the clock for my. family I'm going to show up there the. best way that I can I mean I remember. having branica encyclopedia to have to. search when I got the incarta so we. didn't have the books when I got the. incart what I oh my God amazing oh my.

God and they had a few videos on that. too so you could watch you know you're. watching like a l across the Savannah. and you're just like this is amazing. yeah it's incredible and and I like that. I like I like the way you're using it in. a curiosity building way in a solution. answers oriented way that sounds like a. a smart decision here's the one thing. I'm sure of because I do get asked this. question a lot about like what should my. for college a parents of college age. kids or even college kids themselves. what should I be learning what should. should I be studying right now 10 years.

ago I literally went across the country. I went to 82 universities for that book. talking about the importance of learning. how to program uh so sorry everyone it. turns out that's not as important. anymore I mean for the time I thought it. was actually directly was it was pretty. good advice and actually number of the. folks you know like the founder of deal. uh which is now a billion dollar company. was there in the audience for one of. those talks you know today the advice I. would give is a little more nuanced. because learning to program is is still. going to be important in the way that. learning to speak a language or doing.

basic arithmetic is important but the. tools we will have at our disposal to. literally write code are going to be so. formidable like I mean even the. Improvement the last couple years are. good but in the next few years it'll. it's not the the profession the person. is not going to go away but the amount. of output you'll get out of a one person. is so much greater and so my thinking is. all right there's lots of different. areas where AI may not necessarily. replace human work but is going to be. amazing superpower and so what do I want.

for my kid or even for anyone's kid. who's entering a Workforce is probably. to most importantly build skills that I. know are going to be durable call it a. decade or two from now so empathy is a. skill that I think will be the last. Bastion of AI like you're seeing you've. probably seen the videos now of of. Robotics and and the Leaps and Bounds. that's starting to make still early days. but you know there are skills there are. profession SS where empathy is so so so.

important and the physicality of of. being present one human to another where. at least I personally believe if we ever. get to that point with AI and with. robotics we we can pretty much call it. as a species because I like at that. point I don't know if you're that. self-aware to be that epoe and that. effective in those moments when we can. my sister is an RN when her job can be. done just as well or ideally even better. by a robot as a nurse when that job can. be done you'll also have to explain to.

that robot that they're going to be a. nurse for the rest of their lives and if. they are that all. powerful there's no way they're doing. that job because the humans who do it. are so remarkable like it's not that if. if they they would that that's the. moment when the robots are like no no. way no chance we're enslaving you now. game over um because the humans who are. doing that is the last mile of humanity. required in terms of like the physical. dexterity required the creativity the. problem solving the empathy all of that. stuff so she's got job security for a.

very long time and and I just. believe if you can be equipped and you. can exercise those muscles around. problem solving and learning you will be. at the Forefront for however this. technology changes things and and you. know that's the advice we're trying. we're trying with Olympia adir is only. one so we're still there a long way but. uh but I would say that's that's where. it is the more comfortable you can be in. the discomfort of constant change the. better and then look towards the skills.

I and this is the part that gets me. fired up I actually think we're going to. see the pendulum is going to swing back. for a lot of human work that we would. have considered more artisanal because. we'll crave the humanity of it so I. think uh food so so again imagine a. world where you know I've tried my. wife's a great baker I really just do. pancakes I tried making croissants over. covid because I was like I love a good. croissant who doesn't and I was like let. me just watch YouTube and see how to. make a croissant making croissants is a.

lot of work you got to take that sucker. out of the fridge regularly put more. butter in knead it like it's it's a. labor of love I made it once they turned. out six out of 10 okay they were edible. but like not great but now every I will. never make them. again but but now every time I eat one I. have so much more respect for the. process making you know if we imagine. automation robotics the world's greatest. croissant should be pretty. solved and pretty affordable and pretty. cheap as technology again the Robotics.

are doing all that tedious but important. work it'll be solved and we will all be. able to get a magically delivered. perfect croissant right on time fresh. affordable B this is a dumb example. right but in a world where you can see. robots making Commodities out of. something like food I actually think. then the pendulum again as humans swings. to the The Artisan who's actually spent. their lifetime perfecting this thing and. even when you can get the commoditized. version some people sometimes will still.

seek out that very human version of it. you know the entertainment industry. we're in LA right now it's. undeniable that AI is going to have a. huge impact in how we make films and it. will affect 80 90% of the industry in. really big ways that we still can't. fully understand and I just took my. daughter to see Back to the Future for. her birthday on Broadway and I'm sitting. there and I'm realizing you know and. actually the by the way the special. effects all these dope LEDs like it was. actually one of the most dynamic theater. experiences I've ever seen right that's.

technology my bet is 10 years from now. live theater at a time when the. commoditization of so many parts not all. of but so many parts of like onscreen. storytelling happens and it gets easier. and cheaper and more efficient and more. Dynamic like you will see a big shift in. that industry and it's not going to go. away it's going to elevate so many. things but every screen we look at for. sure our phones our televisions whatever. will be so programmed to show us when we. what we want when we want it how we want.

it a part of our Humanity will miss you. know thousands of years ago when we were. sitting around a campfire and that great. Storyteller was doing the voices and the. Impressions we were like oh that's. hilarious Jimmy do the story again at. the time we tried to catch the gazelle. right that's ingrained in our species so. I actually bet 10 years from now live. theater will be more popular than ever. because again we'll look at all these. screens with all these AI polished. images and we'll actually want to sit in. a room with other humans to be.

captivated for a couple hours in a dark. room to feel the Goosebumps of seeing. live performances of human performances. and so I think we'll see this across a. number of different uh sectors and areas. that'll feel anachronistic it'll feel. crazy that in. 2040 the hottest ticket in town will be. a live performance but I actually think. I think there's some truth to that I. think that's why I'm so bullish on. Sports because no one's going to pay. money to cheer for and cry for a robot. kicking a soccer ball like we need.

humans doing that we need we need to. feel their pain and their success and. their triumphs and those are the areas. that get me most hopeful because it's. it's kind of a nice throwback to when we. were just hunting or growing the things. we needed to live when you know the the. distractions we had were literally the. humans around us and the community we. had were basically the only people we. all knew for our entire lives and and. there are parts of that that I actually. think will nourish us even in this you. know future have all parts of you always. been that optimistic I've definitely.

always been a tech Optimist I I think. look building Reddit I mean you know how. I resigned in protest in 2020 because I. was despite being the face of the. company spending you know 15 years. building it turning it around you know I. found myself in board meetings this is. all public now but I found myself in. board meetings where I was the only. person out of five who was advocating. for Banning like watch people die. literally a community of you know. hundreds of thousands of people sharing. videos of Just or horrible usually uh.

like close circuit television or close. circuit camera footage of of just awful. stuff people dying suicide murder all. this accidents and and then again it. comes up again around communities like. explicitly built on racism and things. that I just I knew were bad for business. we're bad for society we're just just. not things that we should be fighting. for you know when I did part ways I was. so pleased to see the response finally. was okay we're going to ban these things. because it it shined a light right and. and and what it also taught me was this.

was four years ago was that I had I. didn't have enough agency and that was. my own creation that was my own doing. but I was never going to put myself in a. situation again where I couldn't be. doing not just the best work of my. career but also in a way that aligned. with my values and what's been a. phenomenal result is for the last four. years I've had so much win at my back. from making that decision from aligning. those values and I still think the. internet can bring out the best in us I. do I do really believe that and and I. can also accept the conflicting view.

that in it enables the worst of us and I. obviously want to be on the side of the. former uh and so I try to use my. platform as best I can for those things. and to you know curb the the worst I. think I have to remain an optimist. because I'm still optimistic about. humanity and to the extent these tools. are just a reflection of society of our. world and I I need to believe that you. know there is hope for us to figure this.

out to get aign that at the end of the. day nearly all of us still want the same. things we want to live decent lives we. want our kids to live hopefully better. lives than we did like there are some. practical needs that we still have from. hundreds of thousands of years ago that. I think we need to. meet like I said I want to spend my. years supporting all the stuff that I. know my girls will be proud of hey I'm. Jay Shetty and I wanted to invite you to. a brand new interactive no charge.

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www. reneww workshop.com to access this. at no charge and start building A Life. That's not just lived but truly loved. see you there walk me through your. thought process how do you process tens. of thousands of people subscribing to a. Reddit that's about watching people die. yeah because I want to know how someone. like you who's building something thinks. about that yeah it's easy to be like we. should ban that we don't want people to. see. but I wonder what your thought process.

is and how you reconcile the fact that. there are people who are interested in. something like that versus there so much. good and I'd love to hear from a. programmer coder Builder well look early. on these really radical communities. almost never exist certainly back then. because there were just fewer people. online you know 2005 starting Reddit I. was just hoping it would work there were. so few people online actively creating. content that you know for early years it. wasn't even a thing it never even came.

up and when it did it was just an easy. ban CU it was a one-off post I left so. sold the com 2006 to kind of asked stuck. around till 2010 then I. left uh went became a partner white. combinator started a venture fund and I. came back in 2014 as executive chairman. and that was in the wake of a previous. CEO infamously defending revenge porn. this was definitely read its Nat and. he'd written this Infamous blog post. defending keeping these horrible photos. up. um and that was not surprisingly one of.

his last acts to coo and I I was asked. by the board to come back I said great. first thing we did shocker ban revenge. porn pretty easy very obvious thing to. do and then it was a task of one. rebuilding the business rebuilding the. faith you know with users with brands. with everyone um and then starting to. just modernize all the things and then. as this stuff started coming up and once. it got to the board levels you know I'll. give the Steelman version of the. argument that I heard was these are.

communities that are important because. of free speech. and the one argument that I really. didn't necessarily believe I didn't. believe uh was around the therapeutic. value of having communities like this. for people who have PTSD like soldiers. or medical folks and I pushed back. pretty hard on that one because I just. still didn't I didn't believe that it. was real the probably the most. elucidating takeaway for me. was once a spotlight was shown on it the.

thing I would have respected more even. though I disagreed with it would have. been taking that same argument and. making it publicly and just saying yeah. look this is a free speech issue we feel. like this should be here and even though. I would disagree with it I'd still. respect that it was. consistent but we know that's not what. happened what happened was okay yeah our. bad we're going to ban it now and and. that for me was when I just I realized. no this isn't this I can't I can't it's. been I don't know however many decades I.

got left on this Earth doing this and. being a part of this and I think the. really telling thing in the era we're in. now is we have the first generation of. young people who are like in their early. 20s who have grown up like truly grown. up on these social media platforms and. so it's exposed some of the most. problematic Parts it's also exposed some. of the most impressive Parts like the. Excellence of an 19-year-old 20-year-old. who's pitching me to start her company. she is orders of magnitude smarter.

farther along just just more impressive. than I was at her age 20 years ago and I. I think the internet has a huge role to. play in that at the same time some of. the stuff we talked about earlier just. trying to navigate NY really difficult. time that is childhood where your entire. life is gamified you know based on how. many followers you get or how many. hearts you get or whatever else also. brings out the worst uh but for me now. that was that was my breaking point and. I just realized.

I I like I said I can deal with I. understand you see this argument being. made to this day I I respect that. argument um and I at least appreciate. when it's consistent uh the. inconsistency is the part that grinds my. gears more than anything else but we. must also still accept the fact that you. know the worldwide web itself the. internet is the totally open free space.

the difference is when we build any kind. of social media platform platform. whatever it is on it we are ultimately. deciding what belongs and what doesn't. we've all agreed that. spam does not matter like we are all. okay impinging on the free speech of a. spammer and that's a pretty easy. argument that everyone agrees so so if. we agree on that then now we just need. to agree on where we draw the line. because it's there there's no such thing. as a totally free network because again. we've all agreed we draw online on spam. so where else does it go and like I said.

for me and I and I realize it is it's. important for it to be a gray line and I. can go into all the there's a myriad of. reasons why it's actually really helpful. to have it be a Gray Line the short. answer is if you make it a bright line. then toxic users will go right to. exactly where that line is and say great. okay I'm just going to hang out here on. this line and troll because that's how. they get satisfaction so it's actually. beneficial to have the gry line so I I. totally understand the gry line even our. laws in the United States have a gray. line that usually get interpreted by.

judges or juries or what have you so. that's helpful but I think and this is. where the tech Optimus to me comes in. when I look at the next generation of. consumer social these apps and every app. starts with teens usually teen girls. college age girls they drive all online. culture and adoption you look at. Instagram success you look at snap. success you look at Tik Tok success it's. the same. story then the apps that are starting to. make traction. and it's still early days but they're.

much less based even the ones that have. blown up and Fallen back down the be. reals of the world and some of these. others they're all much less based on. the sort of Internet popularity contest. and they're much more based on. connecting with your actual friends um. one that I recently seated is called. airbuds and it's only about connecting. over the music you're listening to and. it's purely like this is the song I'm. streaming right now on Spotify react to. it Vibe with it share tastes you know. it's I think the culture has already now.

built up enough of an immune system that. for this next Generation they're like. there there's a push back to the. previous mold of Social and I think that. alone will drive a much more healthy. relationship to social media but we'll. see but that is the lens through which. we look at even making the Investments. it's okay you know when my kids are old. enough how good am I going to feel about. this being a multi-billion Dollar. business that they're on and and look. admittedly. you cannot predict that it is there are.

so many different paths a company can. take any any idea can take from day one. to 10 years out 15 years out 20 years. out but we make the best assessment we. can based on the founders based on their. attention and have like I said the the. starting line that these Founders are on. today is much more sophisticated than I. was as a first time CEO right out of. college because they like social media. didn't exist we had web forums Facebook. was still in colleges uh there were a.

lot of blogs like it was just a very. different world uh today any any founder. pitching us has lived on social media. and they've seen the good and they've. seen the bad I could be a billionaire. who runs for president and I'll still be. Serena Williams husband or Serena's. husband and part of what attracted me so. much to Serena was the fact that I knew. we would never have this conversation. about like well why do you have to do. this thing or why is this so important. or like why what do you mean you have to. get this done tonight winning Grand Slam. after Grand Slams breaking every record.

doing all this stuff with Olympia in her. belly I might add you know the Pinnacle. of sports excellence and then also. seeing her now like making cinnamon. rolls for the second grade class both of. those things bring me so much joy and. frankly I love seeing the latter more. because it doesn't come with all the. baggage of being the public Persona I. was going to ask you that actually is. whether. you whether you decline investing in. companies that you wouldn't let your. kids. use has it happened there okay there.

have been companies where we haven't. even taken the pitch just because and. again I I don't want to I don't want to. get too high horse about it no one's out. here saying like Okay I guess there were. there was one company that I hard passed. on well whatever I can say it they were. a teleah health business basically like. handing out. Aderall and the business was growing. very quickly but there was no way they. were doing it responsibly and that was a. hard hard hard pass like it was both.

from a I wouldn't feel good about my. kids using this also just from a a risk. standpoint like at some point the FDA is. going to look at this and y'all are. going to have a bad time spoiler the FDA. did come down pretty hard on them but we. do I guess I would take the it's the. more optimistic version of that which is. would I be excited to see this exist in. the world that our kids are going to. grow up in and if it's a 100% reusable. rocket company which we did see called. Stoke hell yes like 100% reusable so now. you're talking about one there's an. environmental benefit to it and two the.

things we'll be able to do for all of us. here on planet Earth when we have a much. better smoother relationship to low. earth orbit will be very good for. Humanity but there's a there's a version. for that but it's I I think it's the. it's the more sort of positive lens yeah. the very interesting thing about. Founders today as well they are more. sophisticated they also know just how. big of a role technology plays plays in. the world and and I know people would.

get on Zuck for his like a Shu Behavior. probably in the earlier days where he. just he didn't it seemed implausible. that he could not realize how much power. Facebook has and I will say to his. credit I think his tune changed on that. and also in his defense none of us did. the the IDE if you told me probably in. in most of the ODS throughout most of. the ODS and probably even the early. teens that. these social media platforms would be.

among the most valuable businesses in. the world I would have been very very. very very surprised and you know they. made some smart m&a moves they did the. things but like for all of us or I can. speak for myself but I would wager Jack. feels the same way with Twitter in those. early days in those ODS you know it was. about building something that you hoped. people loved it was about keeping the. servers online it was not about well. what is going to happen if all of a. sudden there is an election that could. decide that there there's an election. whose fate could be decided based on.

whether or not a post goes up or not. like it would be laughable to have that. conversation in a boardroom 10 years. earlier because it's like hey we might. die next month the company may not be. here next month but uh credit to this. generation of Founders every one of them. knows going into it hey technology is is. shaping far more than it it's not just. these are the most powerful companies in. in the world or in in our uh economy but. there are repercussions to it and uh um. I think by and large we want the good.

stuff to win uh but these Founders today. are much smarter about it did you and. the other Founders at that time ever. come together because I imagine you're. the only people in the world who. understand each other and understand. what you're building and going through. did you ever get a chance to I I was not. invited to those meetings if they were. happening admittedly Reddit was this. very solidly tier two company right like. we you know selling the company 16. months in was ludicrous but it was. life-changing money this was $10 million.

for you know 16 months worth of work I. thought I was getting away with. something this is nuts and then par ofon. and asked you know the trajectory just. sort of changed from when you're an. independent startup and so Reddit was. really solidly a second tier social. media platform for over a decade and. then it wasn't until you know so 2014 i'. come back and then probably by the late. teens once it's like oh here it's a. billion dollar company again the. business is back let's you know there's. a path to an IPO one day um and so if. those meetings were happening I Rd it. was not invited but rightly so I.

wouldn't have been m i i get it uh we. didn't have our together but. there's probably I don't know I'm I I've. gotten to. know Jack a little bit I don't really. know Zuck um few of the other folks. around these other platforms but like. there isn't I there not a group chat. yeah an active group chat there's not a. Reddit no there's not a for the. subreddit no I love it Alex is I want to. you know even just listening to you now.

the way you think is is mind-blowing. it's fascinating I think everyone's. listening right now good is probably. tuned in to just you know I I think it's. always brilliant to dive into that mind. but I also want to focus on your. personal side today because I feel that. a lot of what's not seen in. entrepreneurship is we get to see. someone's Brilliance but we don't often. get to see their the personal sacrifices. the journeys the choices the the chall. es that come with that until many years.

after and I actually want to go even. before ready I want to go back to your. childhood and I wanted to ask you like. what's a childhood memory that you have. that you feel has played a role in. defining who you are today is there. something that stands out oh yeah it's. my first one of my first and earliest. memories so I. was probably like six five or six years. old and so you cancel off from the last. name I'm Armenian. and my great aunt Vera pulled me aside.

so my birthday is April 24th which is. the it's the Armenian uh genocide. Remembrance Day so it's a conflicted day. for me uh but this particular birthday I. learned that it was the genocide of. Remembrance Day how did I learn uh I. remember my Aunt Vera pulling me aside. and basically sitting me down and. walking me through our family's Story of. Survival. in detail talking about the costs the.

toll it took the things that her parents. endured and what they saw and and all of. that and basically how we got to. America and probably not a conversation. you should be having with a six or. seven-year-old but it's our meetings we. keep it real uh she basically finishes. up this conversation saying listen like. it's not a coincidence your birthday is. April 24th you are the product of all of. their sacrifice of all of their hard. work of everything that they endured you.

have a tremendous responsibility now to. make the most out of this life that you. have right I was born in New York here. in the states like couldn't have asked. for a better outcome right Generations. later but what they endured is something. that you will have to carry for the rest. of your life happy. birthday and and so yeah no that has. never left me and and she was an amazing. woman she was a public school teacher in. Brooklyn didn't have any kids herself. she was my grandfather's sister it's my.

great aunt Vera um she didn't any kids. herself but she saved up as much money. as she could she's the reason I could go. to college I went to University of. Virginia without taking on uh any debt. uh she paid for that all wow um and so. amazing woman she framed that for me at. a very very young age and. so I am very fortunate I had an amazing. loving mom I have an amazing loving dad. I had the ultimate cheat code. uh having that Foundation you know grown.

up as a as a white dude here in the. states at a time when technology was. starting to rip my parents put some. money together to let me get a computer. all that stuff lined up and then it was. imbued with this responsibility that I. probably will never Escape For Better or. For Worse it's always going to weigh on. me I'm never going to feel like I've. done enough and I'm I'm not mad about it. I'm grateful for it because I think that. Brokenness has has made me who I am and.

it helps me do the things I do but it. instilled something in me that I just. feel a tremendous responsibility for and. and so I I don't know I think I've. probably spent you know I'm 41 now I've. spent three decades trying to earn that. and I still haven't and I will probably. spend three more decades trying to earn. that and I still won't and it'll be a. part of me that's always feeling not. that it's not good enough but that I. have not done enough and and and I know.

this is a story shared by plenty of. folks who are descendants from survivors. of genocide whatnot but o man it just uh. it always hits and it's. like I feel and it's this juxtoposition. right because I go through my. life largely Stress and Anxiety free. right and and I'm aware of that and I'm. grateful for that and then there's. moments where I sit with it and I'm just. like I can still hear I can still see on. Vera telling me this and and I'm like.

like keep going like do better like. you're not there there is you have a. responsibility like do more needless to. say I'm being very I'm very careful with. explaining like I want AR I want. Olympian ad of course to be proud as. Armenians they're only a quarter but. they're still Armenian they got the last. name too I want them to be aware of this. stuff and be proud of their family and. obviously their mom is going to have. some some big big stories for them too. but um I'm also trying to be mindful of. the fact that like maybe I'll wait until. after you know they're a little older to.

really go into the details of it but uh. yeah it's these things shape us man and. I like I said I I. am I she could have just got me a normal. birthday gift but but I'm still I'm. grateful for it is Aunt ver still with. us she's not she's not she got to see me. graduate from college which was awesome. she was there in Charlottesville for. that and uh yeah no it's wild I've never. um. I don't know I I think you know one of.

the big things I did a few years back. was I joined uh the board of Robin Hood. the nonprofit in New York and uh and. made a big Grant to child care there in. the city in part because it was there in. Brooklyn when my mother and father were. working uh at the was ashin Place. Apartments there in Fort green uh a Vero. had pinch hit and just watch me and. stuff so my when my parents were at work. and all that as a little kid and so. child care makes a huge difference and. and we were lucky enough to have a.

family member just across almost across. the hallway in another building and uh. and so I wanted to pay it forward and. that was an honor her that was a tribute. to her but uh like I said I'll be paying. that back uh for the rest of my life for. sure that's beautiful I love hearing. that and uh it must have felt so. meaningful to be able to go back and. serve there and have an impact there I. took my pops back too and we're walking. around the for greens changed a lot. since the80s uh but the the block is. still there and uh and it was great. taking my dad through there just hearing.

stories from him and uh yeah it's wild. then you become a parent and you start. imagining you see this little person and. you're reminded that you were that. little person once to your parent and it. makes your relationship to them feel. very different it's it was a trip but it. was great to be able to come back and. I'll like I said I I'm paying off those. debts the rest of my life yeah you were. saying that you know maybe now in your. life you can go stressfree and and you. know there there are days where you're. not feeling that but the beginning days. of Reddit it wasn't like that in your.

personal life yeah you've mentioned to. me and you know when we were talking. before we started recording this there. were certain things happening in your. personal life when you began that maybe. if you Revisited you'd look at them. differently could you walk us through. what was going on and how you dealt with. it at the time first of all yeah well I. dealt with it very poorly but um so for. the first 20 years years of my life like. I said I mean awesome like no no real uh.

Strife I was ready to take over the. world like I felt so confident in our. ability to build this business uh so. excited and gosh like two months in to. starting Reddit fresh out of school my. then girlfriend who was a year younger. than me she was stunning abroad she had. a pretty serious accident big fall she. was in a coma flat to go see her she. survived she made a nearly full recovery. actually but the like the first month.

two months of why commentator was this. and you get that phone call and you're. like and again I was very lucky I I. never had a phone call like that before. in my life and you get that phone call. and it guts you and you're on the first. plane to Germany and you're trying to. just make sense of the world right this. person you love this person you care. about and another month or two later and. then I get the call that my mom has had. a seizure and she's been diagnosed with. the terminal brain cancer gleo blastoma. multi Forma stage 4 and those are words.

you don't want to hear and you know the. that that was really the crippling blow. where you know here was someone who I. mean I had a like I said great. relationship with my parents but like. definitely a mama's boy and I was an. only child what can I say I was pretty. cool uh but no she was she was amazing. and and the first thing I did when I saw. her so I FW on to Baltimore um first. thing I did when I saw her uh was asking. you know how are you how's everything.

going how you feeling and her first. response first words out of out of her. mouth were I am sorry and I was like. what do you mean you don't need sorry. and she's like well I know you're. starting this company you're supposed to. be a CEO right now you got to focus on. on redit don't focus on me and I know. how much of a distraction this is going. to be for you and and you hear something. like that from someone who you love so. much who's already given you so much man. and and I told I was like I'm the last. person you should be a you should not be. apologizing to me right now like focus.

on yourself please like I'm going to be. fine you owe me nothing you've already. given me everything and that's. emblematic of who she was um what it did. was it gave me a confidence I knew I. there was no way Reddit would fail no. way no chance I was going to let it no. way it could possibly not succeed. because she she blessed it with that she. she really even in those situations. still still was looking out for her. little boy above herself and and you. know she fought for another three four. years she got to see me sell Reddit it.

had a lot not going to lie right you. know in the grand scheme of tech a $10. million exit is is minuscule for 16. months worth of work pretty good Roi uh. but to be able to make that call to my. mom to say hey your faith in me paid off. like what can I buy you was was worth. everything and then true to. form true to form like I knew I was. going to get my dad some season tickets. uh for our local n team there in DC true. to form though my mom was like I don't.

want anything I'm like no no I'm not. going to let you do this come on what do. you want she was like I don't want. anything and I ended up making a. donation for her to her favorite. nonprofit she was like all right if. you're going to have to get me something. you can do that wow and I was so. mad I was so mad because I'm like. lovingly I was like God there is no way. I'm ever going to Top This like you. realize you have set the bar so high. that if I ever have kids I'm gonna be. chasing that goal but that like I said.

that's who she was that's all she cared. about she was a she was an undocumented. immigrant she was an opar from Germany. who overstayed her visa because she fell. in love with my dad this uh Armenian. American here in the states yeah they. eventually got married had me um but she. you know she worked the jobs she needed. to work to pay the bills and do the. things and her number one I mean her and. I think anyone would have told you the. the most important thing to her was her. family and and you know I was an only. child so I got all the I got all the.

Shine from that but that was the. foundation man and and when folks want. to know how or why or all this stuff man. I I pointed to her sorry Dad you get. some credit too but having that. confidence having that support having. that unwavering when I told her I told. this woman I wanted to be a professional. waiter in high school cuz I was so good. serving at Pizza Hut so I worked Pizza. Hut in high school and I was. I was a cook and then those deep the the.

the deep dish pizzas are a sleeper I'll. make them at home now with the cast iron. they're good and and eventually I I made. it a serving and I was I was pretty good. and my boss Tony he was like hey you. know what instead of going to college I. think you could do this full-time like. you're really good and I was like really. and he was like yeah and I was like I. could move to New York and he's like you. can move to New York you can make a. great career out of this and uh and 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 is that. you're not going to go to college just. to be clear and my dad to his credit.

didn't say anything my mom though so. sweet she was like look whatever you do. I know you're going to be the best at it. I know you're going to work your hardest. why don't you start with a budget and. figure out what it'll cost to live there. and then how much you'll get paid and. see if that's something you want to. accomplish and thankfully my ADD brain. switched uh pretty soon thereafter but. like this was a woman who no matter what. was going to support whatever I was. doing and then when it just so happened. to be a tech starter up she was like. great she literally the first person to.

buy our merch the first person to post. on God there are comments from my mom on. TechCrunch Circa 2005 that no one else. would notice but I know cuz I can see. her username and and it's the most like. crazy German mom English you can imagine. but uh it's the sweetest thing and like. she was a ride or die and so that was. the that was the bar I had and so even. when those things came up I just knew I. can't quit now here's where I up was I.

mean intense. compartmentalization and it was what I. felt I needed to do at that time which. was let me just use work as therapy let. me just work my ass off because I cannot. work anyone and if I've got her pulling. from me I will crush any competitors I. know my co-founder wasn't really. equipped to have those conversations or. or really be a support at all. but I mean we were kids right and so I.

just decided work is the therapy and for. the next 10 years you know really did. not think about explore delve into. anything other than I'm just going to do. my work and I'm G to obviously I took as. many Air Tran trips home as I could to. spend time with my mom and dad on. weekends but like let me not go any. deeper than yeah here's this shitty. thing I'm gonna compartmentalize it and. just focus on the tasks at hand and. there were areas look I I think. compartmentalization gets a bad RP I do.

think there are areas where it's. actually tremendously helpful but with. some now my my my take is a little bit. more nuanced where I think with some. work it's good to go into the box to. rearrange some stuff to sort through. some stuff to organize it but it I I. actually think there is a value to. having some stuff in boxes uh and to. compartmentalize because I also don't. want to spend my. days like reliving and rehashing and re. just analyzing those experiences right.

I'm not doing her any favors right her. greatest joy was seeing me be successful. as a CEO as a startup founder and. whether it was Reddit or anything else. that's What mattered and so it's a shame. right she she's she hasn't gotten to see. me get married she hasn't gotten to see. me have kids she hasn't she have been an. amazing grandmother she hasn't gotten to. see me build a lot of the businesses. I've built she's saw me though live my. dream and when I decided it was time to. build my own Venture firm I took the. lessons from those days of Y combinator.

because Jay I agonized over a you know. $200 plane ticket on AirTran to. Baltimore because we only had $72,000 in. the bank we didn't raise that much money. this is a very different era but even if. we had raised the normal round today. would be maybe a few million dollars I. still don't want a CEO deciding God this. is going to cut our this is going to. hurt our burn do I really want to take. that trip and we built a in 2776. specifically say there are tens of. thousands of dollars a Founder can use.

that we are paying for it's coming out. of our fees for their Wellness their. development any caregiving needs like. we've had Founders use this to pay for a. babysitter and a date night with their. partner awesome we've Founders use it. for you know therapy for Executive. coaching for surfing lessons right if it. if it helps them find their focus find. their balance be better Founders for. early stage companies that's often the. entire business is the founder and if. ycombinator had had a program like that.

I think it would have made all the. difference and that's not to slight them. I don't they didn't know what they were. doing they were building the firm for. the first time but I want to do 776. differently and and not because it feels. good but because I actually think it. will drive better outcomes it will mean. better leaders better managers better. Founders which will lead to healthier. organizations which I think will lead to. more returns and the these are the ways. that we're trying to learn from those. experiences and I I speak with Founders. to this all the time especially at the. early days but it never goes away but.

especially at the early days so much of. the company takes on your Neurosis your. like you are setting so much of the. culture and don't even realize it even. just the way you show up on a zoom call. right because you're the founder you're. the CEO like you are dictating so much. of how other people are going to move. and once you repeat those behaviors over. and over again what you've done is. created a culture intentionally or not. and so your baggage your challenges the. things that you're not addressing and. working through to be your best are.

going to be inherited by your team and. and that's again none of this is this. isn't this is the solest capitalist. talking here right I think there's a. there's a a fantastic emotional argument. for it and a health argument for it but. I always try to come first from just the. business argument because if it makes. sense for business then it's a. no-brainer then obviously if it's going. to be for your health and wellness. development then you should do it but. but I do think it has a bottomline. impact m I really do what was the. behavior you saw in yourself that you.

had to readdress or check yourself that. you felt was seeping into the culture in. any of the companies you buil oh I got. that so here I'll give you an example. that'll illustrate it so like two years. into Kanan asked when there's the meme. in uh the Silicon Valley show of resting. investing so normally when a Founder. gets acquired they just hang out of the. company and just they don't do anything. and they earn out and they leave but. again not me crazy uh so like I want to. keep shipping I want to keep building. things and instead of actually making.

the case for the engineering team to go. and build in this case it was a mobile. app so if you can believe it in 2009. 2010 there was this new thing called the. iPhone and some people were talking. about how it was going to be the future. of computing now I was one of those. people who Hook Line and Sinker was like. this is a big deal and if we're building. Reddit to be like the destination for. what's new and interesting on the. internet we need a mobile app now. engineering team team did not agree. because the way things had always worked.

it was fine on the browser it worked. great on the browser the company was. growing why change it if it ain't broken. and instead of doing what I should have. done which would have been better. leadership which is actually bring folks. in win them over make the case get the. Buy in and then change the product plan. I just hired a freelance team to go and. build it because I made a half step of. an effort to make the case and do the. right thing is like I'm mature manager. and when I wasn't getting the progress I. wanted my impatience and my.

relentlessness was like we're just going. to I can hire other people to build it. we'll just build it and it worked we. shipped it Reddit had a mobile app. called I rdit and it was doing well I. was really happy with that pun I hope I. hope people would say I rdit on Reddit I. don't know if anyone's ever said that. that was the hope but then a year later. I leave you know the handcuffs had come. off and fully vested and then what. happened the app died cuz there was no. one left to support it and there was no. institutional buy in and so imagine four. years later five years later I come back.

and now it's 2014 and everyone knows you. need a need a mobile app you have to. have a mobile app and the culture of. Reddit is still solidly desktop is only. what matters why do we need a mobile app. and I'm. like I failed like I I failed we had. this five years ago and yet here we are. and we actually need now need to do it. right this time actually get the Buy in. actually bring in the folks actually bu. we finally shipped it up probably a year. later but it's that so it was a an. unwillingness to actually lead and it.

was a Relentless desire to just keep. moving forward with or without an actual. team and that is a terrible way to be a. CEO terrible it's something frankly I. think I still struggle with in a lot of. ways I will never be hanging out on a. beach I will. never retire I love the work that I do. yeah I if I do it well I get very well. rewarded for it and that helps but it.

it's not about that it I I love the work. that I do it's very satisfying. it's it's something I genuinely would. want to do all the time and my wife. knows this and you know she's someone. who knows a thing or two about. relentlessness and hard work but even. she would admit and has has said on. numerous occasions at the dinner table. that like there's sometimes I take a. little too far no way swear to God and I. actually had I had an LP so one of our. investors so about 10% of the money we.

invest out of 776 is my money but then. 90% of it is from institutions. universities all values aligned good. folks and I had one of our LPS casually. be like oh hey I heard you were uh or I. saw you were at the Olympics looked like. it was a lot of fun and I was like are. you implying that I was just hanging out. the Olympics for two weeks and he's like. no it's the summer I totally get it like. it's fine but and I as I was retelling. the story to my wife and she's like I. will literally call him up because they. know each other be casual and I will. assure him that I have countless times.

complained about the fact that you. working too much and I'm like baby you. have from any any partner that would be. powerful but coming from you right it. carries a lot more weight uh but the. reality is I love this and and unlike. being a professional athlete right I get. to do this forever as long as my my. brain's working right I have compounding. that I get out of age and experience and. it's the the unfair advantage of all of. us who are not professional athletes is. that we actually continue to compound.

the expertise over time and get to keep. doing the thing that we loved in our 20s. in our 30s and our 40s and our 50s and. it's a great blessing and so yeah I have. this and and I think the downside has. been historically making sure I was. either I was building teams and building. organizations that were aligned with. this and and that was a big part of the. decision four years ago to say okay you. know Caitlyn who I founded seven 76 with. she had joined me early in the Reddit. turnaround almost was that time it was.

like six years. earlier I know she's got the same. whatever Brokenness uh that. relentlessness that hunger and and. having a partner like her and then Lizzy. who also came over now she runs my. Foundation those are the folks I just. want to spend the rest of my years. building with and working with and. that's not a judgment like y'all got to. find whatever you need and and I think. one of the things that always gets so. Twisted because I am look # bus Dad I'm. out here making pancakes every Sunday. for my girls I do Crepes on Saturdays I.

post it on social yes I've gotten into. smoking Meats lately and I'm very proud. of that but like like all things on. social media you're seeing a curated. version of the things but the promise. that I made to my kids is the same. promise I make to my team which is like. and sorry to my childhood friends but. I'm. like when I'm on the clock for work I'm. going to show up here the best way that. I can when I'm on the clock for my. family I'm going to show up there the.

best way that I can and that's frankly. all the bandwidth I have in my life and. I I think one of the areas I I should be. investing more into and maybe there'll. be a time but it's the relationships I. have with other men and and these are. the guys I've known them since I was. five these are my best friends we're in. the group chat daily we see each other. now maybe once a year twice a year but I. and you know I got to organize it I. organize a really proper guys trip at. least once here now we've added a second. one but those that's the one area where.

I know I've made a a a sacrifice and. I've just said look this isn't a part of. the equation anymore we used to play. video games all the time after school we. get off the bus we go to Mike's house. fire up golden eye on the N64 wouldn't. do my homework and but that's a that's. chap of my life that's closed and now I. have to make these trade-offs and so. when I always get a little mythed when. people twist it as like oh this guy's. not that serious and it's like no like. there is nothing wrong with caring about. being the absolute best at work and also.

for your family those things should not. be mutually exclusive and I don't know. how we created this myth that it had. like yeah it sucks there's no such thing. as balance you've got to figure it out. you're always never doing enough but. hell modern women have had to endure. this for quite some time now and and I. think only recently has it come up for. dads uh but I'm glad it's getting talked. about more and I'm fine with the the. Jack deposition yeah absolutely I mean I. feel like that lack of presence bleeds. into the other area anyway so if you're. at work and you're not present you can't.

suddenly be present at home yes and if. you're absent at home you can't suddenly. be present at work because our mind. doesn't have an on andof button that. just switches on and off as quickly as. that and so hearing that makes a lot of. sense to me. why why are those male relationships so. important to you at this stage like why. are they valuable and why does it feel. like there may be a time where they're. needed like what would they serve you. with like what how would that help you. now. humility I mean these are the guys you.

still like they'll give me all day. long and that's great because I need it. sometimes uh and it's it's. helpful also knowing these guys for as. long as I have it's 100% genuine and you. see it right like you get as you find. success as you find Fame as you find. wealth there's a difference in the the. relationships there's always this like a. little bit of a raised eyebrow right and. I I know how or I've seen how isolating.

that can be for folks and I've never. wanted that for me uh and one of the. things I've always appreciated is that. these guys have been my best friends. like I said since I was a kid and when. we get together you know the only things. that's changed is that we're older we. got some we got some money now but like. we're it's the same and they. treat me exactly the same way and like I. said it's a good humbling thing to have. your friends talk to you on the. group chat I think male companionship is.

underrated and like I said it's the one. area where I know I could be doing more. work um the challenge is a lot of us. have young kids right now that again. it's the priority I think I think it'll. shift again when I've got teenagers and. they no longer want to hang out with me. uh but all you know almost all of us. have kids that are young and we get it. we'll bring we'll bring the gang. together but we live in different places. and it is what it is and then L uh one. of our guys Adam suddenly had a heart.

attack and he was training he was the. most fit out of all of us he was at the. gym his heart gave out and and he passed. on the way to the hospital oh my God and. and then again you get that. phone call and you're just like no this. is a joke like there's no way no chance. no chance and that was a wakeup call for. me and you know he didn't have children. but we're all looking around each other. at the funeral and again a lot of us. with kids just thinking like Christ like. we we have to show up in such a big way.

for these little humans and you can't. help but take it to that selfish place. right and be like I deeply miss this guy. and I feel like I owe it to him like I. said he was the most fit of all of us. this dude crossfitting I mean h and Adam. was to his credit to man the guy always. was down it did not matter what it could. have been let's just go see a dumb movie. on a Tuesday night he always always was. a strong yes and that mindset and this.

is something I always try to take and. I've tried to tell Founders this too. like it's not my quote but it's the one. about the average of your five closest. friends and and I think a lot about this. because like you know my these guys. we've all had very different lives there. are I don't know if I'd start a company. with any of these guys but there are. attributes about each one of them that I. find really remarkable and those the. things that I keep in mind when I'm like. one of the reasons I love staying close. to you guys is I I I care about you I.

love you like we've known each other. through so much. we've I we've we've done a lot together. we've experienced so much and. and there are still parts of you that. just make me want to get better and for. Adam it was the Relentless commitment to. his health and fitness and and I just I. I couldn't help but think God I really. got to get my life right and I started. with the whole battery of tests and like. I'm getting blood work CT scann doing. all the heart like everything I can now.

and really rigorously I'm not a not a. hypochondriac but I'm like I need to get. some baselines I need to be checking up. on this I need to actually be like. making like thoughtful visits to the. doctor fairly regularly cuz and as a. dude you're just like whatever the. cultures put some dirt on it and you're. fine and like that's how I lived for 40. years and and that was the wakeup call. and I feel like I owe it to him and so. when I get up in the morning and you.

know I'm like okay drag my ass to the. gym I'm like come on show up keep going. man like do it for Adam it's a thing. where now it puts a framing on all the. times we get together because we know at. some point it'll be the last one that. someone is going to be there could be us. and and so again we're not I mean look. we're still doing the same dumb. like we were at a brewery in Baltimore. last time like it's not we're not that. phisticated about it but I'll tell you. what though we've gotten a lot smarter.

as we've gotten older I think we have. gotten a lot. better telling one another actually how. we feel which is again this is a nuts. thing for you talk to my 20-year-old. self like would you imagine yourself. having like thoughtful conversations. about like life with your with your guys. and the answer would have been no of. course not like we're talking about. football or video games or girls but but. that's been a nice part of getting older. is now there's more depth to this. relationship like we have true true. trust and intimacy and we have this.

feeling like I can I can literally tell. this person everything because he's seen. me at my best and my worst and like this. is my boy right and that. unlock gives me something that powers me. up for you know however long it is until. I see them again and when I think about. what is missing right now I think about. all of the young men who don't have. great role. models and can now access any role model.

they want but they are going to default. to the junk food and that's not a. judgment it's the same reason I really. want to pick up the Snickers right. instead of whatever the better choice is. there's an intellectual version of that. junk food that exists which is not. nourishing it's not actually helping you. grow and and it's trying to fill a void. you have a hunger for this thing and I. think men in particular the shadow of. all of the emphasis being put on women.

is that so little attention has been put. on our young men and I would love to see. not attention taken away but more. attention found to be placed on talking. about young men supporting young men. because and and there have been I was a. so I was briefly a Kea fellow so I. volunteered for Kea when I left Reddit. the first time so I was in Armenia. working with entrepreneurs and it was. amazing one of the lessons they take. away from that is women entrepreneurs. anywhere in the world are a far better.

investment than men because the money. that you invest in them that they use to. help build a business often times gets. reinvested more often than not in the. family in the community versus if you do. it for men some of the money goes to the. family communities some of the money. goes to the local bar local. establishment whatever like basically. investing in women in emerging economies. just has a bigger impact on society and. it kind of tracks it's a generalization. but I think we're sitting here going. yeah okay that kind of tracks makes. sense but then you go a step further and.

it's like okay under duress and this is. closely related women tend to endure a. lot better than men and this is one of. the reasons why when you look at prisons. you look at terrorist organizations you. you look at when people are pushed to. extremes disproportionately men that end. up not turning out well so I think we. have an imperative here where if we have. a generation of young men who are. feeling disillusioned who are feeling. demoralized who are feeling this this.

insecurity this deep deep deep pain like. we all have an incentive to make sure. that they're getting that high protein. diet of things that will actually help. them be better and actually give them a. path towards self-improvement and give. them a path towards being successful. viable members of society because unlike. women they're not going to handle that. well and and so I can make the case from. a like a value standpoint like hey I. think it's important to support these. young men but I also would make the case. just from a societal standpoint like it. is in our best interests for for public.

safety for all the things to make sure. we get those sort of uh that generation. back on track and I think it starts with. conversations like this between. high-profile men who've had success in. their careers who can talk about and. normalize a lot of this stuff because at. the end of the day if we don't have. those. examples uh what else fills the gaps and. and I don't like the Alternatives that. fill in the gaps and what's Wild is you. know I I didn't really have I when I.

very much broke into Tech and business. and learned a ton and every time I keep. going up and I tell the guys this all. the time I keep leveling up right and I. keep meeting new people and sort of. getting another Peak behind the curtain. of like how the world works or how. business works and all that stuff and. it's been eye opening because like there. I would if I just could tell my. 15-year-old self be like don't do that. that's stupid like like there's actually. a smarter way to do that um and I hope. to always keep feeling that to some. extent but as I keep doing that and keep. meeting more and more.

folks I have yet to meet one who doesn't. have this level of introspection and. depth and it's it it's I'll tell you. it's most telling among the billionaires. who are now grandparents men who have. achieved everything you could hope for. in business doesn't matter the industry. who are looking at their grandkids as a. second. chance because they didn't get to or. didn't want to or weren't interested in. all whatever you want to call it. spending that time with their own kids. and they're so grateful for that second.

chance but I keep looking at all these. stories from men who I really really. really respect and and the ones who feel. like they've had the most fulfilling. life all keep coming D Coming Back To. Human experiences they have with loved. ones with family and and and like I said. I got. a much smaller scale version of that. with my own mom who who never wanted for. anything and when you get to spend time. with folks who have a few years left to. live it becomes very telling especially.

to do it in my 20s full of all that. youthful vigor and invulnerability to. get humbled and see someone who does not. care for anything other than the. experiences she had and the humans she. loves bro I that was probably one of the. greatest gifts she could have given me. was that perspective so that when I did. find wealth when I did find notoriety. I'd be lying if I said it doesn't affect. me in some ways sure it affects me but. have never never gotten a twisted about. what actually mattered and I've never.

wanted for notoriety or fame I've never. wanted for wealth I've wanted for things. that help me get more time with the. people I care about and make me feel. like I'm living a fulfill like a. fulfilled and purposeful life that's. providing value to people and that was a. gift she gave and so I don't know the. more that we can normalize this stuff. especially among folks and I say men in. particular but all people but especially. men who have reached the highest levels. I want that 18-year-old old or that. 16-year-old or that 12-year-old to be. watching or looking and going like hey. all right these guys are talking about.

stuff that feels like it has substance. it has meaning it has purpose and. they're still the ass kickers in the day. job whatever it is across the industry. like these things are not mutually. exclusive and uh I just I I I want to. see more of those voices like yours get. Amplified because it's I think it it's. very very important and I love that what. you said that J the position again the. ability to be a killer in the workpl. BR individual and at the same being to.

empathe compassionate vulnerable that. that's the that's the power is always in. the J position right you look at it in. anything whether it's a community a. company an individual and I think a big. part of that going back to what you've. been talking about is also seeing men's. relationship with their wives like I. think that's a big part that for years. when we were talking about the lack of. Role Models or the lack of the ability. to look at and it sounded like your. parents had a wonderful marriage and and. yeah and demoed a beautiful Connection.

in front of you that you got to see with. you and your wife having such busy Lives. having priorities both of you. professionally Partnerships places to be. travel and then you've got kids how have. you found a way to prioritize each other. with the million things going on that is. at the Crux. of of I think every conversation we. ultimately have as a couple which.

is it's funny I'm very obviously. high-tech she's very low Tech um. sometimes it literally comes down to. calendaring and making sure like if I. had my brothers it would all be digital. um I finally got Serena to modernize a. little bit and now we have a giant um. like a dry race board calendar that sits. at the dinner table where she'll put in. her schedule and then I have to go. usually I'll take a photo of it to send. to my admins and then we'll write in. manually but at least we have one shared.

space where we know like okay Papa's out. of town for this business trip mama's. going through this thing and it is the. hardest thing um it is explicitly. creating date nights I mean it's funny. it's the same tactics that you'd hear. any couple talking about with a. therapist about like hey what are the. ways to keep the relationship going the. romance all that stuff and it it is. definitely Amplified in all kinds of. ways with a higher profile relationship. but. the other reality is so Serena's been. working since she was a kid right like.

tennis was not I mean it is a sport but. like it's a job right the amount of. hours she was putting in the. responsibility as soon as she started. like playing like playing playing was. tremendous responsibility so you know. I'm married to someone who has been. working for 35 36 years and who had a. childhood and I think Serena would say. like was a great childhood not a normal. childhood but now she's evolved her word.

into you know she still got businesses. just launched this beauty brand win. Shameless plug uh great brand and and so. she's still doing business things she's. investing but she also loves I mean. she's her class she's the classroom mom. for Olympia she gets to spend so much of. her time. now being an active and super engaged. aged mom for her kids and I I can't help. and I've told her this too can't help. but feel like this is a chance for her.

to she's on the other side of it now but. to live that life that you didn't really. have which was you know where your. number one job as a kid is just to go to. school learn things hang out with your. friends and who knows if Olympia keeps. going with the tennis or the golf we'll. see but but she's relishing that. opportunity and so that helps me a ton. because right that's ironically that's. the thing that I grew up with the boring. typical Suburban lifestyle that most.

people in my position myself included. will spend a lot of their lives trying. to maybe not get or run away from. because they want something else and yet. here she is having gone to the top of. the mountain achieved everything and. that's actually the thing she loves most. and so how we make it work it's all it's. the benol stuff it's the like making. sure we prioritize it's trying to figure. out and also decoding. the. differences um obviously we're in. interracial relationship I don't think. that'll surprise anyone and as a white.

dude married to a black woman you have a. societal Gulf Right Between Us in terms. of the ways we've experienced our lives. right the in the American uh hierarchy. of things like you know we have very. different lived experiences you just set. aside obviously the fame notoriety CH. stuff but like even if we just operated. this life as two random people with our. makeups we'd have very different points. of view experiences all that stuff and. it's probably.

the hardest and best element to the. relationship where like the table Stakes. are we love each other we've made two. incredible humans together we will do. anything I mean believe me the two she I. she jokes that I'm like the psychopathic. dad like there's an Armenian Dad meme in. here by the way like we're very. protective of our kids but she's super. mama so like we have things that we care. so so deeply about that we know we're on. the same team for and so it's probably.

the best way of all the ways to be. checked on yeah like a blind spot let's. say it's best to have it come from. someone who you know cares so much and. that's where the growth happens that's. the tension and so like if I say. something or do something and again. nothing crazy here but like if I say. something or do something and she's able. to shine a light on be like hey did you. notice blah blah blah or hey this is.

like bringing up these things to help me. have better awareness because look I got. two black daughters I want to make sure. I'm showing up the best way I can for. them it helps because I still feel that. pain because I'm like I'm not a racist. I'm not a bad person but then you you. sit with it for a second and you're like. okay just hear hear this feedback right. and and it reminds me it's just like. going to the gym you're pushing some. weight and you're trying to get to that. next level and it's going to hurt. because that's where the muscles tear.

but that's where it grows back stronger. and so I feel the same way when I take. that I'm like ah okay fight the impulse. don't be defensive and just listen and. hear and try to understand and and I. will say though it's and I've talked to. other folks in interracial relationships. it is definitely there's a dynamic there. that creates new challenges or even I. think any crosscultural relationship. creates those challenges I bet I don't. know if I was I guess I'm a weird. Mid-Atlantic guy but the difference. between me and even a white person from. Appalachia is going to have those. cultural challenges right but across.

those lines that's where you get again. with a relationship built on love you. get this opportunity to say okay like. let me try to learn and try to be a. little better that I think helps but. like I said it's probably the worst part. is the dynamic there's a reason we live. in the middle of nowhere Florida like I. love being here in LA but like I think. we live in such a weird. culture that that you know the. celebritization of things is just it's.

different and and one of the things that. we always wanted for our girls is for. them to have I mean they're not going to. have a normal life but to not be living. in it and and to have the ability to do. that from you know sort of the middle of. nowhere Florida has been probably the. biggest secret weapon what did you what. I love though is the awareness you have. of the upbringing you had and how that's. impacted you now with you wanting the. opposite and how the upbringing she had.

yeah and and I love that awareness. because it's such a subtle point but. it's such a powerful one because it. sounds like you both accept why you're. wired the way you are because I think it. could be really tempting to project and. hope that well you know Alexis has. achieved everything too so shouldn't we. both. just let everything go and just be home. with the kids. or be like well You' achieved so we. should be going for the. next I think we do a lot with our.

partners where we reflect what stage of. life we're on like I remember when my. wife and I first met I was ambitious and. driven and she was definitely the. Homemaker and curator and and then as. I've become more set in my world and. have more time my wife's career is like. really taken off and she's really found. her purpose and it's amazing but I just. love watching her flourish so even. though I have more free time to be able.

to spend together now than I did eight. years ago I recognized that watching her. grow and watching her Thrive is actually. the most inspiring thing and now that. just because I have more time doesn't. mean she has to adapt and adjust around. that and so I love that yeah I find it's. a really but but it's such a common. thing I see where it's like I wish you. were at the stage of life that I'm at. and that seems to be the hardest most. impossible thing to demand you know the. challenge I had in previous. relationships the the general theme.

was I knew I was super ambitious I was. very upfront about. it but it still doesn't really land. until three months in six months in nine. months in and you realize oh this guy is. not going to change yeah and and it. seems like a fun thing for a little bit. and then at a certain amount like. eventually push comes to shove and and. it and there's a gap. because they. didn't get it and and I again I I don't. think that's a right or wrong here but.

it's it's an incompatibility yes and. part of what attracted me so much to. Serena was the fact that I knew we would. never have this conversation about like. well why do you have to do this thing or. why is this so important or like why. what do you mean you have to get this. done tonight like that could never. happen because of everything she had to. do in order to achieve the heights that. she had gotten to and so that to me was. already very appealing because I was. like okay this is table Stakes I have. found someone who has clearly even more.

ambition than me who has achieved so. much and in a way so I don't know if I'd. say the same thing if I were an athlete. I think that might have been harder but. to be with someone like Serena right. that's like literally one word like you. you don't even need to say her full name. it is tremendously. liberating because I know and also. because of who we are and where we come. from Jay there is literally nothing I. could do I could one day God willing I.

will be a billionaire I I will never run. for president but let's say I could be a. billionaire who runs for president and. I'll still be Serena Williams husband or. Serena's husband right I could be I. could I could be an astronaut it doesn't. matter it literally does not matter and. and part of that is a testament to like. where she. started where she got what she did all. those doors that and all those things. and so in a way it's kind of liberating. as a super ambitious person especially. in a society where like it's a meme just.

to literally say oh that guy is. comfortable being called Serena Williams. husband now candidly if we live in an. ideal world no one is anyone's anyone. right but I do appreciate I I understand. why the internet finds that really. exciting and interesting um but the. bigger story here is the fact that if. you have this kind of partnership you're. talking about you're able to let one. another flourish at those things at that.

time when they're ready and maybe I. didn't see it maybe maybe I missed out. on some great relationships earlier. because it wasn't there at that time but. at the end of the day one of the best. parts you know dating Serena while she. was winning Grand Slam after Grand Slams. breaking every record doing all this. stuff with Olympia and her belly I might. add you know the Pinnacle of sports. excellence and then also seeing her now. like making cinnamon rolls for the. second grade class like both of those. things bring me so much joy and.

frankly I love seeing the latter more. because it doesn't come with all the. baggage of being the public Persona that. you just have to endure doing that job. and I know she doesn't miss it at all. for those same reasons uh and I think. that's I don't know that's been why it's. just I don't know been been an easy. transition for her uh and and frankly. been a lot of fun to see this this. Evolution for me yeah how did you meet 6. months into the Reddit. turnaround I was burnt out and my head. of Comm said I needed to go she was like.

go to Italy and I was like what and she. was like there was a speaking gig that. wanted me there and I was like sure I. was like wait no but this is a boond. doggle like there's no point we're not. ready to like went over marketers she's. like just do it please like you need a. day or two just go I was like all right. fine I go I flake out on the conference. that first day and I just find a cafe. and I started doodling working on some. sketches for product stuff I meet up. with a friend of a friend very random. they just walked. in and they're like hey can we use the.

table I'm like sure we get some drinks. we're out that night until like 3 in the. morning and I get home hung over the. next morning I need coffee addicted go. downstairs they say Sir breakfast is. over but if you want coffee you can go. sit by the pool I go sit by the pool I. take out my laptop and there's a table. next to me uh the Australian there's an. Australian guy at the table tells me to. moveie he says there's a rat at the. table I say I'm not afraid of rats I'm. from Brooklyn I see rats all the time. he's like I might there a rat you better.

leave and I was like no thank you I'm. good and I was just working and then the. lady next to him turns around it's. Serena and she's like oh you're not. afraid of rats I'm like no not if you. don't bother them they won't bother you. she was like oh you here for the tech. conference and I was like I am she's. like you here to see someone speak in. particular I said no I'm speaking she. was like oh she's like what's your. company I was like Reddit and she she. lied she's like oh yeah readd it she had. never heard of it and uh we started. talking and she said listen the rest of.

my team was going to use this table so. can you just move when they get here and. I said no but like they can join me and. we'll I'll just have breakfast and so. exchang numbers and I saw her play later. that night in Rome and that was the. start of it all so it's breakfast at a. hotel uh the Cavalier in Rome great. breakfast wonderful truffle omelette in. case if you want to get the Alex special. it's the Truffle omelet uh it's a great. great omelet I love it Alexis it's it's.

thank you for sharing that it's it's. beautiful to you know just even how. you're speaking about your wife and. again going back to that point we were. talking about having positive. conversations in that way of you know. what a healthy relationship looks like. challenges ups and downs difficulties of. course with any relationship but you. know one of the things that I wanted to. ask you about that before we get to the. end of our conversation is is this idea. I mean you were very humble a few. seconds ago and it's beautiful to see. you have reached you know you've created.

something that in and of itself is is a. word right like it's like Reddit. is recognizable used uh it's in pop. culture like it's everywhere like you've. built something that is fully. recognizable let alone recognizable just. just everyone knows what it is and and. then Serena has this incredible success. of course no need to explain how do you. both think about defining success for. your kids and the the pressure that.

obviously will naturally sit on them. with whatever they do and then how do. you think about defining success towards. your futures as well together and as. individuals because you've both had and. experiened so much success um with our. kids it's the cliche you want them to be. happy productive members of society I. mean that like I'd say the other wrinkle. I'll put on there and I tell Olympia. this all the time and I will tell adir. again she's just one but she's doing her.

best she's she's an active kid yes six. I'll sit her down but like whatever they. want to do I have zero tolerance I. should say we have zero tents for them. not trying their absolute best again I. know that seems cliche like I don't even. let Olympia say can't we'll see how long. that that lasts but I will not let her. say can't if she says can't I'm like. what was that we don't we don't say that. word I like that because I don't I don't. even want her uttering that she can't do. a thing like you can choose not to do it.

but we don't say that we don't say that. word and I try to reiterate to her I. want her to love the act of trying we. used to do there's a there's a YouTube. channel there's a few actually that'll. do these drawing classes and I'm pretty. good drawn I made the Reddit logo SN I. draw pancakes and and during Co I was. like Hey we're going to do drawing class. Papa can do art class I can do math and. English but Art's more fun so we're. going to do art classes together and you. know early on she'd be like wow Papa.

you're really good at drawing and I'm. like do you think I was born this way. and she was like maybe and I was like no. like Papa practiced Papa Drew a lot and. I want even for mundane things like Hey. we're drawing Princess Peach I I. desperately want her to take only one. thing away which is even the stuff you. think your papa is great at he sucked at. when he started even the things your is. great at maybe she didn't suck at when. she started but like she had to learn. she was bad she she had to get better.

you might have some natural inclinations. here and there for different stuff but I. want to see her get comfortable with. failing and struggling and then. improving getting her into golf has been. open I I had never played golf but uh. Uncle tiger gave me some clubs for her. so I was like Olympia you got to play. golf now and uh and we go to lessons. every Sunday and that that actually has. been a great sport for humbling and for. getting her comfortable with the process. because it's such a brutal hard sport. it's the most patient and you have to.

get comfortable with with failure and. messing up and she'll still it's funny. she'll whack at 100 yards I'll be so. proud of her and then she'll totally. whiff on a ball and once she got so. upset she almost she almost pulled the. Serena she pulled the club up and was. about to smash it I was like Olympia she. just casually put the thing down I was. like oh you got that Serina in you uh. but you see that and you see she's she's. got that tenacity and she is so hard on. herself when she doesn't get it right. but I I need her to sit in that and soak. that up and get okay with it so that.

whatever she does again if she it. changes every week. veterinarian fashion designer right now. she wants to be a singer I'm like I. don't care what it is you just need to. know I'll like you w you love that. Beyonce video how many hours do you. think Beyonce spent rehearsing the dance. moves rehearsing that song singing over. and over and over and over like do not. get seduced and I it's crazy I I don't. know I I did not have anyone like sit me. down and tell me that that explicitly.

and maybe it just ruins maybe just ruins. Life we'll see but I need her to know. anytime she sees Excellence the only. reason she's seeing is because of. countless countless hours of trying and. failing and practicing that led up to it. that no one saw that no one cared about. and you know with her mom as an example. she's got the goat of a role model and. she does do tennis now twice a week I. think. I mean she's got some good athletic. jeans let's be honest uh no but she. might I don't know if she plays Sports.

the good news is her mom will be able to. have a conversation with her early on. about just what it's going to take and. if she wants to do it God bless we'll. support her you know I but I I'm not. worried it's weird this is not a thing. okay when I was a kid I used to be. pretty I don't want to say anti-r people. but. like I I distinctly remember going to. UVA and I went to some good public. schools in Howard County Maryland like. they were fine they were solid but I got. to I played football with kids who had.

free lunches and kids whose parents were. lawyers so I got exposed to a pretty. decent range of kids which was great and. then I got to UVA and I finally met like. rich people and I was so excited because. I was like these kids are so soft I was. like this is going to be great like this. is my competition like this is. phenomenal and and you it tracked but I. now I'm like on the other end and I'm. not trying to it's not for sympathy here. but like I there is I am much more. appreciative of the challenges that.

wealthier families have making sure. their kids have have it have that grit. have that whatever you want to call it. and so that's something we're acutely. aware of and mindful of and hoping for. and like I I like I said I want Olympia. to work either it's got to be either a. retail job or Food Service like some. kind of service job for sure like high. school like it's good enough for Papa. it's good enough for you like I need you. to experience these moments and. feel some kind of connection like you.

you're going to have you're going to be. fine right but I need you to be a. productive member of society I need you. to be a good person I need you to know. the value of a hard day's work and and. like I said it's a weird thing to. navigate obviously Serena doesn't have. any kind of uh equipment for that uh and. and everything her parents put up with. in order to give her that life like it's. it's a wild perspective but that's it's. something we actually think about and. talk about quite a bit and the good news. is you know at least Olympia adura they.

is fun too they're tracking to be good. humans uh which I feel like is number. one and that if they can be good humans. who are also productive members of. society like I feel like we're living. the dream um but there is that part of. me that just thinks like you want you. want to create just enough of that. Strife to create that resilience and. that ability to thrive and and it's so. ironic because if you look at so many of. the stories of Excellence there's always. some version there's some part there's.

some thing that happens that creates it. and it's usually strife and so it's like. on the one hand you don't want to like. part of the reason you did the thing was. so that your kid wouldn't have to endure. the thing and yet you still find. yourself saying God I just kind of wish. they would have to endure some of that. Strife uh but it's that I mean like. that's to me that's actually been one of. the most satisfying parts of um. fatherhood hood is is seeing your kid. fail and then seeing your kid get it.

right I get so much there's so much more. of a high from that than seeing my kid. get it right the first time I I really. enjoy and I'm not sadistic I like it's. it just feel like it feels so much more. satisfying because you're like okay that. actually feels like a moment where you. there's some part of you that just like. a synapse fired and some line some dot. in your mind connected with this other. dot where it's like okay I figured it. out I couldn't do it before I can do it. now and it could be right now it's it's. like. multiplication and it's just being able.

to start to see those dots really. connect that I just I love it's very. satisfying it's like a Pokemon uh. evolving in front of your eyes I love it. Alexis it's been such a joy talking to. you honestly this has been amazing just. learning from you from whether it's Tech. to AI to fatherhood to Brotherhood to. love this is great this is great. you're very kind I appreciate that but. uh Alexis we end every on purpose. episode with a Fast Five for a final.

five which means every question has to. be answered in one word or one sentence. maximum okay so Alexis these are your. Fast Five the first question is what is. the best life advice you've ever heard. or received be useful it's Arnold. Schwarzenegger quote sorry Arnold I like. it yeah uh second question what is the. worst advice you've ever heard or. received oh I didn't take it I have to. taken it no Paul Graham told me to get. rid of the Reddit alien and change the. name to octop poop and I said no I'm.

keeping SN and I'm GNA keep calling it. Reddit and and that was a good decision. worked out yeah octop poop would you all. be using octop poop right now come and. he wanted to change the alien to an. octopus I'm like Paul come on we're not. doing that brilliant guy just not not. great with The Branding know that uh. question number three if there's any. other business dads listening that are. struggling with. the business and being a dad and trying. to manage it all what would be your. advice for them aside from listening to. my podcast you know I the good news is.

there are more Avenues than ever because. there are more and more people talking. about this than ever what book we. reading tonight like what are you most. excited about um and then when I'm on. the clock for weekends in particular I. really try to lock in and so it can be. whatever you need to do obviously your. family is going to have different. prescriptions but create those. Traditions create those routines and. that's one thing I would give advice to. myself at 20 about over again when I had. more free time when I had more youthful.

vigor if I had more discipline I would. have been 10 times more productive yeah. and and it shows up in sneaky ways if if. I had gone to bed at midnight because I. knew like my I was the diminishing. marginal returns of my productivity were. falling off a cliff and just gone to bed. slept for 7 hours 8 hours and then woken. up and done the thing I would have done. it in 20 minutes instead of staying. awake for another 2 and a half hours. like no that's not actually the best use.

of your time and and discipline is. freedom and I never would have believed. that in my 20s or even in my early 30s. but becoming a parent that's the only. way I'm able to do these things and. that's not to say I'm perfect but if you. can incorporate ritual routine even. before you have kids you're going to be. even better at what you're building and. then once you have kids it's it's kind. of the only way to do it uh frankly I. love it uh question number four how. would you define your current purpose my. current.

purpose is. enabling a whole another generation of. entrepreneurs to do even bigger and. better things than I did I love that. that's such a Prett answer and I mean. look it's it's also you sleep a lot. better at night because it's not your. ass on the line for every one of those. companies too so it's a it's a blessed. position to be in I love it and Fifth. and final question we ask this to every. guest who's ever been on show the. question is if you had to create one law. that everyone in the world had to follow. what would it be okay I this one I.

cheated and I wanted to have one. prepared that would have been a good. idea yeah but I think the the the best. thing I came back with was a joke which. was you know everyone should be able to. experience the joy of making someone. they truly love happy MH uh you talked. about this earlier again it's not really. a practical law no I like that but I. have never felt more satisfied or happy. or richer or taller or what I've never. felt more any positive feeling you could.

feel than when I get the. unsolicited I love you Papa hug from my. daughter and and again it doesn't have. to be your daughter it could be anyone. but like those moments for me are like. black tar heroin I am addicted to it and. and so when I think back hopefully as an. old man one day and I think about like. what are the things that really really. made me so incredibly happy it's going. to come back to those moments and so I.

wish that for everyone as often as. humanly possible and the irony is right. it usually doesn't cost any money uh it. means time it means intentionality it. means other humans and and we're going. to keep getting really good at making. artificial intelligence and I don't want. that to scare folks because I hope I. really really hope and want to believe. it gives us more time for the human. communing that that far few of us or not. enough of us have a chance to do often.

enough so I don't know whenever you're. if you're breaking bread with people you. love like I said these are all the. things going going to a sporting event. going to an Angel City match you're. you're enjoying these moments of. humanity with people you care about and. uh and and make an effort to tell those. people especially men out there. dudes normalize telling the men in your. life that you love them whether that's. your father your brother your best. friend you don't have to go bu a. billboard you can if you want up to you.

but like normalize having that. conversation you will not regret it I. love that Alexis soan and everyone. business dad podcast make sure you. subscribe and uh Alexis I'm so grateful. to your parents they they are you you. you carry them yeah yeah you you carry. them in their energy so well like you. can tell how deeply rooted their love is. for you and the love that they had for. the world that seems to be oozing out of. you so it's really beautiful to. experience that today and I'm grateful.

that you came and spent these couple of. hours with me so thank you so much this. was awesome man thank you man thank you. bro thank you thank you so much for. listening to this conversation if you. enjoyed it you'll love my chat with Adam. Grant on why discomfort is the key to. growth and the strategies for unlocking. your hidden potential if you know you. want to be more and achieve more this. year go check it out right now you set a. goal today you achieve it in 6 months. and then by the time it happens it's. almost a relief there's no sense of.

meaning and purpose you sort of expected. it and you would have been disappointed. if it didn't happen.