WATERLOO, Ont. (Thursday, October 17, 2013) – Alexis Ohanian, founder of social media website reddit, is set to speak to students at the University of Waterloo this fall.
His mission is to make the world “suck less.” At Waterloo, he will address an audience of students, entrepreneurs and community members to motivate and inspire the next generation of innovative change-makers.
“Alexis Ohanian is a tremendous example of the modern tech-entrepreneur, someone who is innovating and making disruptive changes to the world,” said Feridun Hamdullaphur, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo. “Waterloo is well-known for being a place where innovation takes root and change begins, so this is the perfect place for Alexis to share his experiences.”
Promoting his new book, Without Their Permission, Ohanian promises that the tour is the exact opposite of a traditional book tour. The week before his visit to Waterloo, he will engage with users on the University of Waterloo subreddit to source topics for his keynote address.
Waterloo is currently Ohanian’s only visit to a Canadian university on a tour of more than 70 colleges and universities in North America. During the visit he will also spend time with student entrepreneurs offering exclusive mentoring and advice.
Ohanian, a startup founder and investor, started reddit with co-founder Steve Huffman after graduating from the University of Virginia in 2005. Now a reddit board member, Ohanian focuses on social enterprise Breadpig, publishing authors such as xkcd and SMBC - with profits donated to worthy causes.
Ohanian helped launch hipmunk and ran marketing, public relations and community outreach before becoming an advisor and joining the fight against the US Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect I.P. Act. Ohanian invests and advises over 70 tech startups. He's Y Combinator's Ambassador to the East, and co-founder of the non-profit IHAS.
His talk will take place in the Davis Centre at Waterloo on Friday, November 22, 2013 at 8 p.m. Registration details are available online.
