Without Their Permission: The Story of Reddit and a Blueprint For How To Change the World

When starting a community based site from scratch, what do you need?

A simple system that encourages participation.

What was the reddit launching strategy?

Faking users to generate more content, and make the site look more lively.

What was the critical product decision early on?

Instead of an ontology with category tags, they let users create their own reddits (subreddits).

What was another pivotal moment when designing reddit?

Keeping the logo. Staying strong with branding.

When faced with a decision on what or how to build, what's a good motto to follow?

Make the simplest possible solution (product) to the problem.

What's Alexis's lesson after hearing about his mom's terminal cancer?

Never give up. Don't lay down in self-pity, but stand up with determination to go after your dreams and goals.

What's the key to beating your competitors?

Staying true to your why, and giving a damn about your technology and audience.

What's a good strategy for public speaking?

Test. Analyze. Repeat.

What does the story of Mister Splashy Pants demonstrate?

The democratization of the content online. Everyone who creates something online has lost control of their message, but has gained a global audience.

After they launched and garnered steam, how did they treat their users?

They responded to every post, article and write-up on reddit that they could. 'Don't be afraid to show your users that you give a damn.'

What three questions does Y Combinator want you to prepare before the interview?

Why your idea is something that people will want How will you sell it to customers How will you do this better than your competitors

What are the three things a good startup needs?

You need good people, a product people love, and to spend as little money as possible.