wattpad cutc feb_4_2012

Unlimited Stories

Entrepreneur? Me?

Allen Lauallen@wattpad.com

wattpad.com/allenlau@allenlau

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

LET ME FIRST INTRODUCE MYSELF

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

LET ME FIRST INTRODUCE MYSELF

• My name is Allen Lau• I am a serial entrepreneur• Currently CEO and co-founder, Wattpad• Before Wattpad, I was CEO and co-founder, FeedM8

– Mobile advertising company, acquired by Upstream Systems

• Before FeedM8, I was CTO and co-founder, Tira Wireless– Leading mobile content publishing and deployment company– Raised $30M from Venture Capital– Grew from 2 co-founders to 200+ employees– 4th fastest growing wireless company, Deloitte Fast 50

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

WHAT IS WATTPAD?

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

WHAT IS WATTPAD?The largest online community of readers and writers

Our investors:• Union Square Ventures• Golden Venture Partners

Recent Awards:• Deloitte Impact Infused Top Entrepreneur• #1 amongst digital media companies in the Canadian

Innovation Exchange• Best Overall Canadian Startup of 2011

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

OUR GOAL

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

The largest community forevery reader and writer

to discover and share stories

It’s a new form of entertainment

OUR GOAL

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

Video Sound 140 characters

Images

(and other short-form

content)

Stories

(and other long-formcontent)

Social Media / User Generated Content

Photos

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

KEY METRICS

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

• 2.6 billion minutes time spent by users Q4 2011

• Usage doubles every 6 months• 7M monthly unique users• 30 minutes per visit (US, UK, CA,

AU, etc.)• 300,000 monthly uploads• 3M cumulative uploads• 3M monthly comments and votes• Top ranked eReading app in all

major app stores (#1 in App World, Top 10 in App Store, etc.)

KEY METRICS

Q1 2008

Q3 2008

Q1 2009

Q3 2009

Q1 2010

Q3 2010

Q1 2011

Q3 20110

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Web Mobile

Time Spent (million minutes)

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

ENTREPRENEUR? ME?

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

– You are likely to fail, and it’s okay– Think big– Make the world a better place– Start young

ENTREPRENEUR? ME?

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

YOU ARE LIKELY TO FAIL, AND THAT’S OKAY

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

• Over 90% of startups fail• The journey is as important as the destiny• My companies– Tira Wireless (burnt $30M)– FeedM8 (almost ran out of $ before being acquired)– Wattpad (with no traction, we almost pulled the plug)

• You can learn a lot in a very short period of time– Not possible if you work for a large company

YOU ARE LIKELY TO FAIL, AND THAT’S OKAY

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

THINK BIG

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

• Internet is a volume game– 4 billion mobile phones

• Big market– Don’t create an app for Toronto Mongolian food lovers

• Disruptive ideas– New business model? New process? New technology?– Education, transportation, clean tech etc.– Wattpad vs traditional publishing

THINK BIG

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

• Think big ≠ Megaupload• Possible to maintain a balance between doing

social good and making a dime• The Wattpad story– Improve literacy rate in Africa– Help students to improve their writing skill– Encourage young people to read more

MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

START YOUNG

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

• My own mistake• Easier to innovate – No preconception of how things work

• If it fails, you can always go back to your parents!• But don’t be a dropout

START YOUNG

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

IF YOU CAN ONLY REMEMBER ONE THING

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

IF YOU CAN ONLY REMEMBER ONE THING

• Start your own company• If not feasible, the next best thing is to work for a

great startup– Work for a single startup might be risky, work in the

“startup” industry is not risky• Experience you won’t regret

social + mobile + eReading = new form of entertainment

Thank You!

allen@wattpad.comwattpad.com/allenlau@allenlau

BTW, we are hiring

Allen LauCEO and co-founder