11–20 of 161 posts
Also, being foreign in the US is a concern at the moment. Hell, being native in the US is a concern at the moment...
Is it politically motivated or does it have to do with Canadian tech not requiring investment because of its stability?
Shopify is basically the only really successful Canadian start-up. It's very hard to run a very small business here.
This is extremely misleading. YC still backs Canadian founders (and other international founders). There must have been one too many painful experiences investing in companies based in Canada. Creating or converting to a US-based entity is a standard ask for most international founders who want to participate YC and I suppose something has changed such that Canada is no longer an exception to that.
We're a global employer, and just employing people in different jurisdictions is kind of a nightmare (totally worth it, though). I can't imagine how much of a pain it must be to try to manage investment stakes in foreign corporations.
Is it politically motivated or does it have to do with Canadian tech not requiring investment because of its stability?
It's safe to assume YC will continue to fund Canadian founders, but they'll now require them to incorporate in Delaware, Singapore, or the Cayman Islands - none of which is significantly difficult for a founder. You could literally make a US Corp via Firstbase in a couple of minutes [0]
This is extremely misleading. YC still backs Canadian founders (and other international founders). There must have been one too many painful experiences investing in companies based in Canada. Creating or converting to a US-based entity is a standard ask for most international founders who want to participate YC and I suppose something has changed such that Canada is no longer an exception to that.
Important added context here: the list went from US, Cayman, Singapore, Canada to US, Cayman, Singapore. It's not as if YC was generally investing in non-US based entities before. Canada was an exception and isn't anymore. We're a global employer, and just employing people in different jurisdictions is kind of a nightmare (totally worth it, though). I can't imagine how much of a pain it must be to try to manage inves…
I worked at a place that expanded into Calgary and picked up a bunch of ML engineers with oil-and-gas backgrounds (who were eager for something outside the energy sector) and the government picked up half of the payroll tab for several years. There is also, of course, no health insurance benefits to worry about.
Wonder if the founders not being US citizens or possibly even residents will hinder their ability to maintain their company. Or, whether this change increases the likelihood of being replaced when the startup shows some success. Also, being foreign in the US is a concern at the moment. Hell, being native in the US is a concern at the moment...
Canada's economy is dominated by a few big companies because the government makes too many rules. It costs too much to start a business here. In politics, only two parties really matter. This creates a closed system where big players stay big and new competition is crushed by red tape. Regulatory frameworks impose prohibitive compliance costs, favoring established incumbents over startups. Key sectors like banking, t…