Three months into the launch of Reddit, co-founders Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman were invited out to Silicon Valley by an executive at Yahoo. What happened next, is now legend among many tech entrepreneurs.

That’s why UberFacts—one of the most awesome brands on the internet— teamed up with us to capture this story first hand during Ohanian’s recent visit to Verge ®. Take a look:

“Haters Gonna Hate”

If you’re an entrepreneur, you don’t need reminders that haters are gonna hate. But with this new story from UberFacts, Ohanian gives us a perfect anecdote for why early criticism should be taken with a grain of salt.

alexis ohanian haters gonna hateYou are a rounding error,” scoffed the Yahoo executive at the other end of the table. A memorable line, given the history of what happened next. Of course, Reddit went on to grow to one of the top websites on the internet and eventually sold to Conde Nast Publications.

Alexis Ohanian‘s new book Without Their Permission chronicles this entrepreneurial growth story in detail, with several other insights into the magic behind Ohanian’s career. It’s a worthy read of anyone who does anything with the internet, as Ohanian’s stories also delve into his personal and political efforts to keep the Internet free and accessible—for everyone.

It’s clear from this story, and others within Without Their Permission, that Ohanian has loads of hustle. But he also had the foresight to build himself an awesome support infrastructure. And much of that early foundation came through the mentorship of Paul Graham and the community at Y Combinator.

So, how can you build your own support team? How will you deal with haters?

Because as long as you’re building something different and taking risks, haters gonna hate. The next time you’re feeling down, remember this story and replay the video to remember (in the immortal words of Alexis Ohanian), “Haters gonna hate …So, you know what? Eat them for breakfast.”

haters gonna hate

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