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Reddit CEO Steve Huffman on IPO debut: ‘Best investors of my company are…’
Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman said that the firm was seeing "a lot of momentum" in the advertising market.
Shares of social media company Reddit soared nearly 50 percent on the New York Stock Exchange as it marked a buoyant market debut which raised hopes about the IPO market. The company finished at $50.44, up 48.4 per cent from its initial public offering price. With this, Reddit's valuation reached around $8 billion. The IPO raised a bit more than $500 million as Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman said that the firm was seeing "a lot of momentum" in the advertising market.
Read more: Reddit IPO's Wall Street debut: Social media stock makes roaring start, closing up nearly 50%
Talking to CNBC, he said, "What's special about Reddit is whatever you're into, whatever you're going through, whether applying to school or going through romantic or health trouble, it's all on Reddit.”
Steve Huffman said that the company's ambition through the IPO was to invite “a number of our users and have a healthy retail component beyond that.” He said, “Our goal there was to bring in, I think, as is the ethos of Reddit, level the playing field, bring people in on the same terms that professional investors would. And so it’s a free market. I hope they believe in Reddit and support Reddit. But the goal is just to get them in the deal, just like any professional investor would.”
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Reflecting on the social media company he said, “Reddit is nothing without our users and communities. And I think that’s the beautiful thing about Reddit, is they tell it like it is. But you have to remember, they’re doing that on Reddit. And it’s a platform they love. It’s their home on the internet. And, look, I think it’s such a privilege for -- for I and the team to get to work on Reddit, but they really are Reddit.”
But for Steve Huffman the best investors of Reddit are “people who use Reddit”. He said, "And so, I want our investors to be users, and I’d love our users to be investors. I think, look, we all -- we’re all building this together."
