With its headquarters in Toronto and offices in London, Los Angeles, New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Jakarta, and Manila, Wattpad now plans a second Canada HQ, this time in the Volta Innovation Hub in Halifax’s Innovation District.
The press release explains that the move, set for early 2020,
follows a year of growth and international entertainment acclaim for Wattpad in 2019 (in which) Wattpad’s global community grew to more than 80 million people, and the company launched a number of new monetization initiatives to help diverse writers make money on Wattpad, solidifying its place as the world’s leading platform for writers.
That’s a bold statement, and one that will surprise the many in publishing who think Amazon is the only digital show in town, but Wattpad backs up its claim with substance:
In entertainment, Wattpad’s film After won a People’s Choice Award for Best Drama Film, three Teen Choice Awards, and became one of the top grossing indie films of the year. The company’s Hulu show, Light as a Feather, received four Daytime Emmy nominations and a second season order. Since 2018, Wattpad Studios has signed a dozen international entertainment deals, forming new partnerships and developing projects with the biggest studios across Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
All of which serves to remind us that Wattpad has come a long way from its origins as a free-reading fan-fiction site.
About the second HQ, Wattpad CEO Allen Lau said:
This expansion is a major milestone in a year of incredible milestones for Wattpad. We’re a global company, with teams and partners across time zones and on nearly every continent, so a second HQ will allow us to supercharge our business as we continue to grow. Halifax is a city and community that is unmatched in Canada, with a thriving tech scene, world-class talent, and a business-friendly environment. We’re thrilled to make Halifax home to our second headquarters.
Wattpad’s 80 million visitors spend over 23 billion minutes a month on site, choosing from over a half billion uploads, while Wattpad Studios and Wattpad Books are,
transforming entertainment and publishing, using data-backed insights to turn Wattpad stories into books, films, TV shows, and digital projects.
Read more here.
