Allen Lau

Allen Lau is a Canadian and Hong Kongese entrepreneur who is the co-founder and CEO of Wattpad.[1][2]

Biography

Lau was born in Hong Kong, and at age 19, he immigrated to Canada where he attended the University of Toronto. There, he earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1991, followed by a master's in electrical engineering in 1992.[3][4] In 2006, he founded Wattpad, an online platform that allows writers to share their writing with the online Wattpad community.[5][6] Lua is a prominent member of the Canadian entrepreneurship community; in 2014, he and his wife founded Two Fish Ventures, a venture firm that invests in internet-based startups in the Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo regions.[7] In 2021, Wattpad announced that it was being acquired by South Korean conglomerate, Naver, for USDD $600 million; Wattpad is planning on continuing to run independently with Lua maintaining his leadership position.[8][9][10]

References
  1. Bickis, Ian (December 9, 2019). "Storytelling platform Wattpad to open office in Halifax". Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  2. "The Leader: Allen Lau, Wattpad". thestar.com. 2015-08-16. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  3. "'A match made in heaven': Allen Lau on Naver's US$600-million acquisition of Wattpad". University of Toronto News. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  4. "The content 'factory': How U of T alumnus Allen Lau is disrupting the way books, movies and TV shows are made". U of T Engineering News. 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  5. "The Wattpad Cult: why Toronto's buzziest tech start-up is a self-publishing app beloved by teen girls". Toronto Life. 2014-11-10. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  6. "The six hottest players in Toronto's digital industry". Toronto Life. 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  7. "Two Small Fish Ventures closes $9 million for second fund | BetaKit". 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  8. "Wattpad, the storytelling platform, is selling to South Korea's Naver for $600 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  9. "Following Wattpad acquisition, CEO Allen Lau says "I'm not done yet" | BetaKit". 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  10. "Wattpad to be sold to South Korean internet giant for $600M US". January 19, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.


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