Matan HazanovManaging Partner, Enigma Ventures · Founder | VC | Podcast Host | I can help you raise money

How I Developed the Skills to Build a $660M Business

9 Jul 2025 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:30

Allen Lau describes a rapid early-career progression—from junior/mid-level engineer to head of development and head of engineering for Wattpad's Toronto office—in roughly four years ("literally 1500 days"). He reflects that increasing responsibility each year compressed his learning, producing management and leadership experience (overseeing roughly 50–70 engineers) that later helped him when he became CEO of Wattpad, despite admitting he was initially an inexperienced manager.

Questions this video answers

About four years.

"Literally 1500 days."

About 50–70 engineers.

Chapters

Let me explain. I was on a rocket ship and the career was moving very fast. Literally every year you got to do something else. And more importantly, increase my responsibility just increased almost every year too. And that gave me all the management experience, all the leadership experience on a fast track. So I became the head of the development team, head of the engineering group of the entire Toronto office. At the end. That took like four years from almost like a junior mid level engineer to become that. And how much you can learn in literally 1500 days, right? And that's compressed learning curve, in hindsight, gave me a lot of tools in my toolbox when I became CEO because, you know, I made a lot of mistakes. I was very, very young. I was so inexperienced, I had no clue how to lead. I think at that time, maybe 50, 60, 70 engineers, there was a pretty big group, multiple levels under me. And if you ask people who work for that group, they would probably say I was a terrible manager because I was so inexperienced. Right? And I think that one thing, super, super help, helpful down the road, perhaps 10, 15 years down the road. When I started Watpet.