Alexis Ohanian talks tennis, work ethic and business

Entrepreneur, venture capitalist, tech co-founder and still-new father. Alexis Ohanian, Sr., sports a lot of hats, including husband to the GOAT in women's tennis, and he opens up about most all of them in a *New York Times* "Corner Office" Q&A.

Therein, he praises his wife, Serena Williams, for her superior work ethic (expected) and also rhapsodizes about the finite quality of sports, which are split up into winner-versus-loser terms (intriguing).

Of Serena: "I thought I was the hardest-working person on the planet. I thought we were the hardest-working industry. That’s what we tell ourselves. It’s all malarkey." Okay, pal, props simply for using that last word.

About observing his wife in action: "I’ve had this front-row seat over the last three years to greatness. It’s a humbling experience seeing really what high-pressure situations actually look like professionally, seeing just what it takes to actually be that great. It is a work ethic on another level."

On avoiding tennis in his former life: "I used to change the channel when tennis was on. Then I watched my first match when I met her, and quickly got an appreciation for the sport. It’s not just the physical requirements but the mental requirements. I could not imagine doing my job with millions of people watching."

The definitive data of sports outcomes: "One thing that I have always respected in sport is it is so pure in its success metrics. In business, we can find creative ways to measure ourselves. 'Yes, well, one fund has been more successful than another because they’ve invested in six unicorns.' ... But in sport, there’s a winner and a loser, and you can’t delude yourself into thinking there’s some other way to compare or measure. You’re the best or you’re not. For [Serena] to be able to perform so consistently for so long is pretty amazing."

The full story features Ohanian's thoughts on rock band Metallica as a co-founded company and the pros and cons of Reddit as an online community representing a range of perspectives and approaches to humanity. Absent in the mix is the subject of new fatherhood, but this is a business-y forum, and for more on the foibles of being dad to Alexis, Jr., you may follow AO1 on Instagram, among other portals.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.

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