Exclusive Event

Corner Office TO: The Evolution of an Entrepreneur

We hosted a conversation with Allen Lau, Co-Founder and Former CEO of Wattpad and Co-Founder and Operating Partner at Two Small Fish Ventures, where he shared lessons from building one of Canada’s most iconic tech companies, from bootstrapping to a $660M acquisition, and reflected on how reinvention, leadership, and strong fundamentals continue to guide his work with the next generation of founders.

BrainStation Toronto
Event Recap
Nov 26, 2025

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Allen Lau

Co-Founder

Allen Lau

Co-Founder

“My advice to new founders and engineering grads is simple: follow what energizes you, not what impresses others. Build things, experiment, fail, learn, and double down on your superpower, the thing you do better than almost anyone else.”

- Allen Lau, Co-Founder and Former CEO of Wattpad and Co-Founder of Two Small Fish Ventures

Allen Lau

Co-Founder

Allen Lau is the Co-Founder and Former CEO of Wattpad, the world’s leading social storytelling platform with a global community of 90 million readers and writers. Under his leadership, Wattpad scaled from a Toronto startup to a cultural phenomenon, with stories adapted into books, films, and series worldwide. In 2021, Wattpad was acquired by Naver for US$660M. Beyond Wattpad, Allen is a mentor, investor, and advocate for Canada’s tech ecosystem, helping founders focus on building revolutionary startups.

More Upcoming Events

Apr 02

Design Evenings TO

The Evolution of the Designer in an Agentic Era

Simon shares how working with generative AI and agentic systems in retail is reshaping product craft, decision-making, and the designer’s role in shaping the future.

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
482 Front St W, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON
$35

Simon Kim

Staff Product Designer, AI

Discussion Topics:

From Designing Interfaces to Designing Systems
Thinking Like an Agent
Designing for Real-World Impact

Apr 02

Design Evenings TO The Evolution of the Designer in an Agentic Era

Simon shares how working with generative AI and agentic systems in retail is reshaping product craft, decision-making, and the designer’s role in shaping the future.

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
482 Front St W, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON
$35

Simon Kim

Staff Product Designer, AI

Discussion Topics:

From Designing Interfaces to Designing Systems
Thinking Like an Agent
Designing for Real-World Impact

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Apr 07

Product Evenings TO

Delivering Value When Tools Are Limited

Join us for a conversation with Katie Meyer, Lead Designer at Scotiabank, as she shares how designers can drive meaningful impact inside large organizations, even when access to new AI tools is limited.

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
482 Front St W, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON
$35

Katie Meyer

Lead Designer

Discussion Topics:

Identify Opportunities Within Constraints
Leverage AI with Limited Tools
Deliver Value and Demonstrate Wins

Apr 07

Product Evenings TO Delivering Value When Tools Are Limited

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
482 Front St W, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON
$35

Katie Meyer

Lead Designer

Discussion Topics:

Identify Opportunities Within Constraints
Leverage AI with Limited Tools
Deliver Value and Demonstrate Wins

View Event

Apr 08

Design Evenings TO

How Agentic Coding Is Redefining Product Design

Join us for a conversation with Theo Richardson, Staff Product Designer, AI at Dropbox, as he explores how agentic coding tools are redefining what product design can be and why we’re all builders now.