Reddit originated in 2005 when Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman, co-founders and recent graduates of the University of Virginia, took the advice of startup accelerator Y Combinator founder Paul Graham. During their senior year, Graham proposed they build "the front page of the Internet."  Eager for the opportunity, Ohanian and Huffman received a modest investment of $12,000 from Y Combinator, marking Reddit's inception as part of the accelerator's first batch of companies.