Date post: | 05-Dec-2014 |
Category: |
Economy & Finance |
Upload: | wattpad |
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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!
[email protected]/allenlau@allenlau
BTW, we are hiring
Allen LauCEO and co-founder