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Can Montreal Become an Open Source Startup Hub?

nextmontreal.com

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Re: Can Montreal Become an Open Source Startup Hub?

#71

Post by jbarham »

danudey wrote: post #46
jeromegn wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personal income tax may be higher, but the advantages far outweigh the cost. I'm thinking about: free healthcare, extremely low electricity cost, cheap rent (pretty much half as much as SF's rent) and everything that comes with living in a major city. RE French: Ever learned a new programming language to go work somewhere? What's the difference? You don't have to be fluent in French, you have to understand it enough…

You can get all of those benefits by living in Vancouver (though rent isn't as cheap here, apartments and suites are much better maintained). On top of that, the weather is better, the people are friendlier, and you don't have to worry as much about not getting a position solely because your language skills aren't up to snuff.

As someone who has lived in Vancouver, saying that its weather is better than Montreal's isn't saying much, unless of course you actually like six straight months of almost daily rain. Having lived over four years in California, the weather there is incomparably better.

Re: Can Montreal Become an Open Source Startup Hub?

#72

Post by galactus »

ramchip wrote: post #61
danudey wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most French people will be able to understand most Montrealers sometimes, in the same way that someone from Britain would be able to understand a Cajun sometimes. The language is very divergent, with franglais words sprinkled here or there, shortened words, differing word usage, etc. On top of that, for the reasons above as well as others (including their accent), people from France really dislike listening to people…

You seem to be living in Canada, but perhaps somewhere else? Our views are pretty different. I'm a francophone, born in Quebec. I have never seen a francophone (from anywhere in the world) speak in English to another because the accent was too strong. Most francophones in Montreal actually speak pretty bad English, at least once you leave the technical spheres, and any Quebecois can speak something closer to "interna…

At least 3 quebecois have told me they have had a french replying to them in english (in international contexts, like a conference). I guess it is only a reaction to an accent many of them have not heard before, but after a second they understand they are talking to a french-canadian

Re: Can Montreal Become an Open Source Startup Hub?

#73

Post by neilc »

potatolicious wrote: post #35
ianl wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to be graduating soon from Dalhousie in Halifax with a BCSci, and I would be more than willing to move to Montreal. You won't import American talent to Montreal however, why would they come to Canada when they can move to New York, Boston, Seattle, or the mecca of technology in North America Silicon Valley. This doesn't mean that Montreal won't be a technology hub, but it has to compete with Waterloo which…

> "why would they come to Canada when they can move to New York, Boston, Seattle, or the mecca of technology in North America Silicon Valley" As a Canadian working in Seattle... come here for a visit. There are a lot of Canadians in all of the above places, and most of them are just itching for a chance to go home. Cost of living, social stratification (in a way that we really don't feel in Canada), health care... th…

if you like the whole metropolitan lifestyle, the Valley really cannot compete

There is a ton of startup activity in SF these days, as opposed to the Valley proper. Cost of living in SF is higher than in Toronto, but not by an enormous amount if you want to live downtown (Montreal is cheaper though).

Re: Can Montreal Become an Open Source Startup Hub?

#74

Post by neilc »

evanprodromou wrote: post #15

I think it's interesting that people here on HN are focusing on the pros and cons of Montreal as a city rather than the article's main point: that startup ecosystems outside of SF and (possibly) NY need to specialize to thrive. Maybe it's Open Source, maybe it's... I dunno... defense contracts, but in order to get that critical network effect, you have to be the best in something .

Specializing in "open source" seems like a strange choice: open source is a business model / licensing decision. I think it would make a lot more sense to specialize in a vertical industry (e.g., biotech, hardware, robotics, etc.)

Re: Can Montreal Become an Open Source Startup Hub?

#75

Post by p90x »

arach wrote: post #66
p90x wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i don't understand the purpose of the article, or of your post. if the city has what it takes it will happen. if it doesn't it won't. everything else is conversation. that is how i look at it, what am i missing?

I remember someone making a speech (borrowed from someone else) about "just words". Words matter. Conversations matter.

if you want to trade proverbs i'm give this one: "a lot of talk and no action makes homer simpson a dull boy."

Re: Can Montreal Become an Open Source Startup Hub?

#76

Post by danielharan »

evanprodromou wrote: post #18
p90x wrote: post #14

I didn't find any use in the article. Apparently, the useful information will be coming next week: "Next week, I’ll give what I think is a potential plan for Montreal to take the lead in Open Source commercialization." I hope he isn't going to ask for government money.

Why not? Don't you think local government has a stake in building the startup ecosystem in the city? I think there's some serious opportunity for some jurisdiction to pwn Open Source startups with significant tax incentives for Open Source development. What about tax incentives on salaries for developers who release code under an OSI license? Incentives for "soft" Open Source work like community management? Infrastru…

Procurement is definitely an area that should be looked at. Open data too, since it creates opportunities - it's a disgrace that we give Google transit data but locals can't compete.

Cheap, fast internet connections: the city could engage with Ile Sans Fil. Municipal fiber too.

The biggest challenges are not technological. On the political front, I think we're falling far short of what we'd need to compete.

Re: Can Montreal Become an Open Source Startup Hub?

#78

Post by olalonde »

Maciek416 wrote: post #11
imack wrote: post #3

"As for talented potential employees… that’s tougher" No kidding. What Montreal has going is pretty impressive, but Quebec has an abnormally high personal income tax rate and the language issue is always going to hang like a cloud over it. I know everyone in Montreal speaks english, but the default is French and all public signs are too. While some Canadians will put up with that because our country is founded on pla…

I think climate also counts too. I can't remember where I saw this mentioned in the context of tech startups (pg's essays, probably), but if you're good enough and ambitious enough to choose whatever location you like, why not choose a location that has all the "nice place to live" qualities? Not to mention, "a nice place that wealthy tech investors want to live in". Last week I saw Lane Becker give a talk at SproutU…

Montreal girls make up for the climate ;)

Re: Can Montreal Become an Open Source Startup Hub?

#79

Post by olalonde »

sedachv wrote: post #47
imack wrote: post #3

"As for talented potential employees… that’s tougher" No kidding. What Montreal has going is pretty impressive, but Quebec has an abnormally high personal income tax rate and the language issue is always going to hang like a cloud over it. I know everyone in Montreal speaks english, but the default is French and all public signs are too. While some Canadians will put up with that because our country is founded on pla…

Montreal companies have absolutely no problem hiring programmers who don't speak French (I'm the sole anglophone at my company, and they found me). The real losers end up being the native Quebecers. There are really good programmers here working for pennies because they don't know enough English to move to or contract for companies in the Bay Area or NYC. This is true for a lot of other knowledge/creative professiona…

Anglophones having highest incomes in Quebec is an old myth. In fact, a recent report from Statistics Canada (StatsCan) shows that English-speakers have a lower median income than francophones with the same qualifications.[1]

Furthermore, I highly doubt that the fact "you could be working in NYC if you wanted to" has any influence on your salary.

Finally, even if what you stated was true regarding francization, it wouldn't be ironic at all. Francization isn't there to help out the economy, it's there to protect a culture.

/rant :)

[1] http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2010/09/quebec_anglo_incomes_lagg...

Re: Can Montreal Become an Open Source Startup Hub?

#80

Post by olalonde »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #19
evanprodromou wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree. I think that the bilingualism is a strength. After all, the strongest Open Source markets in the world today are international. If Montreal can represent a bridge between North America and Europe, there's an opportunity for synergy there.

How will Montreal represent a bridge to anyplace besides France? While France isn't nothing (60 million people with a bit less disposable income than the US), USA+Canada+France is less than 20% bigger than USA+Canada.

French is an official language in ~40 countries.
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