How Reddit Got Its First 1000 Users: Fake Accounts, Forced Launches, and Finding Trust

The Dorm Room Origin Story

In 2003, University of Virginia roommates Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman were bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. Their initial idea? A food-ordering app called MyMobileMenu (mmm). After a year of "market research" without actually launching, fate intervened when Paul Graham came to Boston for a talk.

The ambitious duo traveled to meet Graham, pitching their idea over drinks. This chance encounter led to an invitation to interview for Y Combinator's first-ever batch. Though initially rejected, Graham had a change of heart, calling them back with a new challenge: "Build the front page of the Internet."

An Unexpected Launch

With just two weeks to create "the homepage of the internet," pressure was high. Competition from Digg and a looming YC deadline pushed the founders to their limits. In a surprising twist, Paul Graham essentially launched Reddit for them by mentioning it in his essay "What I Did This Summer," catching the founders off guard but propelling them past 1000 users in a single day.

The Fake User Strategy

After the initial spike, Reddit's user base dwindled back to nearly zero. To create the illusion of a thriving community, Ohanian and Huffman resorted to creating numerous fake accounts. This tactic served two crucial purposes:

Setting the tone for the website's culture

Making new users feel part of something bigger

Building Trust Through Anonymity

Reddit's early success hinged on maintaining users' initial trust. They achieved this by:

Allowing uncensored content (initially)

Requiring minimal personal information to create an account

These decisions, combined with the appearance of an active community, gave Reddit the foundation it needed to grow into the internet giant we know today.