Allen's Thoughts…

One of the three things that CEOs only do is to “make sure there is enough cash in the bank” (see job #3 here).

Silicon Valley’s founder CEO worship definitely has its merits.

Last September, I had the honour of being the keynote speaker at the Lab2Market Deeptech Expo, where I discussed the current state of deep tech investments and commercialization.

It has been three years this month since Wattpad was at the centre of one of the largest tech acquisitions in Canadian history.

I was reading a report from the investment firm LetkoBrosseau, which highlights how minimally the Canadian pension system is investing in Canada.

As a refresher, a CEO does only three things: Sets the overall vision and strategy of the company and communicates it to all stakeholders.

I’m a 3x entrepreneur.

One of the most unusual practices I used as CEO was writing an internal blog called “Allen’s Thoughts” on Wattpad every day.

Last week, I had the honour of chairing this year’s TechExit.io conference in Toronto, marking my first time in the role at a conference!

It’s hard to convey the immense scale Sheertex has achieved in such a short time since its founding in 2017.

Just shared my thoughts, titled “We’re wrong to fear artificial intelligence – real life is not science fiction“, on AI’s transformative impact in The Globe and Mail.

“Bags 2 Riches”, brought to you by Simplii Financial, is a docuseries that features the origins of seven notable immigrants’ journeys while highlighting their new lives in Canada.

After so many years, the two A Laus finally met Yesterday at TIFF, in the world’s premiere of The Movie Emperor, one of the A Laus watched the other A Lau cheekily cast as a movie star, also named Lau, seeking relevance via a film festival–baiting art-hou…

On September 25, I will be the keynote speaker at Lab2Market Deeptech Expo.

Earlier today, TSFV announced our latest investment: Story Protocol.

It feels like it’s been ages since we were last here!

I’ve long wanted to craft a steampunk story on Wattpad.

Last week, Two Small Fish Ventures announced our most recent investment in Ideogram AI, a Toronto-based generative AI company.

The stories behind this picture we took in Muskoka a few weeks ago captured four incredible world-dominating startups.

I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s fireside chat between OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman and Shopify’s CEO Tobi Lutke!

No doubt Grand Tourismo 7 is one of VR’s killer apps!

Episode 4 of Bags 2 Riches is live!

Despite two (!)

Today is a big day for Two Small Fish Ventures as we reach first close of $24M for Fund III that targets $40M!

It’s a wrap!

After spending 15 years at the helm of Wattpad, today I am starting a new role as Executive Advisor to the WEBTOON family of brands.

Recently Eva and I were able to take in the iconic Toronto skyline, hear the roaring of Niagara Falls, see stunning fireworks display against the backdrop of Parliament Hill, and visit the cobblestone streets and charming architecture of Quebec City — all…

Last evening the Laus hosted an intimate dinner with a dozen of fellow C100 members in our backyard.

In honour of Asian Heritage Month, BenchSci hosted Showing Up, a discussion that delved into the experiences of four Asian panelists: Kepler’s CTO and co-founder Wen Cheng Chong, Wealthsimple Foundation’s CEO Leen Li, Backbase’s Regional VP of Customer Su…

Last week, Naver, the South Korean internet conglomerate, announced the acquisition of Wattpad in a transaction valued at more than an estimated USD $600 million.

This blog post is sponsored by BMO ESG ETFs The pandemic has forced many people to work from home.

Note: This blog post was originally shared with Wattpad employees in early April.

As we enter the final hours of the 2010s, to reflect and look forward I would like to share a couple of very contrasting collages.

It’s a situation founders know well: the agonizing wait to see if the product/service they’ve launched will take off.

A few months ago, Wattpad announced a partnership with Anvil Publishing in the Philippines.

Collision is the fastest-growing tech conference in North America, and for the first time ever, this past may the event was held in Toronto.

Earlier today Eva announced on Two Small Fish Ventures’ blog that she has raised $9 million in the first close of TSFV’s Fund II.

About a year ago I read an article about Jeff Bezos’ approach to meetings at Amazon that really resonated with me.

The Wattpad team is growing and we’re hiring for many roles.

For any entrepreneur launching an app finding product-market fit is a lot like finding the Golden Ticket; it’s rare, but when it happens it’s life-changing.

When you work at a startup, seeking advice and gaining buy-in from the broader team can help you move faster … until it becomes a crutch.

I spoke with an entrepreneur whose company is building a new, disruptive product for the education sector.

As a startup scales, it’s natural for tension to creep up among different teams who are working on disparate objectives.

When I first became a manager, one thing that was extremely difficult for me to get used to was delegation.

I first started managing people when I was 26.

The new year means a fresh start.

Before we rung in the new year, Wattpad released its Year in Review, highlighting the trends and community movements that defined the year on the global entertainment platform.

A slew of international tech companies – Google, Uber, Samsung, Microsoft, Amazon – have committed to or expressed interest in setting up shop in Toronto.

Over the years I’ve attended thousands of meetings.

At some point in your career, someone you know will a) ask for an introduction to someone else in your network, or b) offer to make an introduction to someone they feel you should know.