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Why Startups Should Choose Canada Over Silicon Valley

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Re: Why Startups Should Choose Canada Over Silicon Valley

#31

Post by hjay »

jsingleton wrote: post #22
vecinu wrote: post #5

I have a few problems with this article, namely the comparisons drawn between The Valley and Canada. I am currently a Canadian citizen, working in San Francisco at a company that moved from Vancouver many years ago. The author seems to be comparing the Bay Area to the entirety of Canada. Canada is not a small area, a city or a state. It is an entire 'continent' spanning multiple provinces with very different laws and…

Agreed. A lot of people seem to be mentioning Toronto (never been) but can anyone comment on the tech/startup scene in Vancouver (loved it but it seems very small)?

There is definitely a lot of talent in Vancouver, though many of the people I know have their eyes set on SV/the U.S. Investors here are very hesitant to open up their wallet (much like areas like Australia). Some big companies have development located here, but I would not say the startup scene is very big at all.

There are accelerators like GrowLab (since 2011), but nothing like the valley. I definitely agree with the overall premise of the article though, people here see a lot of the "money-throwing" over in the valley and feel it's often way overblown/hyped.

Re: Why Startups Should Choose Canada Over Silicon Valley

#32

Post by stormbrew »

derefr wrote: post #27
stormbrew wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If by diploma you mean a 2 year (which is usually what it means in Canada), it won't be enough on its own. You can actually get an exemption if you can demonstrate equivalent knowledge and a career progression towards it. What that usually means is having a professor of your field vouch for your knowledge and being able to prove work history for 3 or 4 years of each of the four years of university you didn't take. A…

> If by diploma you mean a 2 year (which is usually what it means in Canada), it won't be enough on its own. I really did mean a four-year; I just said "diploma" because "degree" implies education was involved. The diploma is the piece of paper. :) > prove work history for 3 or 4 years Does that mean employment history? I don't have much of that. Completed contracts, certainly, but I've not been "on payroll" anywhere…

Well, in Canada it's very unusual to call a bachelors a diploma. The piece of paper is a degree. Diplomas are for two year colleges and high schools.

I think the work history requirements might have relaxed in recent years a bit, but not by much. 10 years seems to be the point where most American employers start to seem optimistic about being able to get you an H-1B without a degree. But if it's not employment experience you'll have to work twice as hard to document it, and that can be very difficult. Most of my work history, for example, is tied up in companies that no longer exist or as contracts, as with you.

http://careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/ca/home.aspx https://jobs.ea.com/locations/canada/ http://www.google.ca/about/jobs/locations/waterloo/

I also think there was an article here recently about Facebook setting up a Vancouver office just to bring graduates through the subsidiary employment process. It's a one year thing specifically for that purpose.

Re: Why Startups Should Choose Canada Over Silicon Valley

#33

Post by drpgq »

3pt14159 wrote: post #24
strebler wrote: post #20

Rose coloured glasses. You want to startup in Canada? Either a) have access to network with money, or b) bootstrap like there's no tomorrow. Investors in Canada have an appetite for risk somewhere in the neighbourhood of "mutual fund vs GIC" levels. For someone with Silicon Valley connections, fine it could work, but this is not good general advice. Even iNovia, which is probably the most forward looking VC in the co…

This man here speaks the truth. Without revenue, it is easier to get a $30k grant than it is to find an angel investor willing to invest for the same amount. (Source: I raised a $30k grant in about 3 meetings and 5 hours of paper work. I also spent about 6 months with two idiot "angel investors" from Ryerson Angel Network when I was young and dumb and didn't close a dime. One guy said he wanted to invest but sheepish…

I've wondered about becoming an angel investor in Canada. I guess the ability to invest $10,000 without asking a wife qualifies me.

Re: Why Startups Should Choose Canada Over Silicon Valley

#35

Post by bwertz »

3pt14159 wrote: post #24
strebler wrote: post #20

Rose coloured glasses. You want to startup in Canada? Either a) have access to network with money, or b) bootstrap like there's no tomorrow. Investors in Canada have an appetite for risk somewhere in the neighbourhood of "mutual fund vs GIC" levels. For someone with Silicon Valley connections, fine it could work, but this is not good general advice. Even iNovia, which is probably the most forward looking VC in the co…

This man here speaks the truth. Without revenue, it is easier to get a $30k grant than it is to find an angel investor willing to invest for the same amount. (Source: I raised a $30k grant in about 3 meetings and 5 hours of paper work. I also spent about 6 months with two idiot "angel investors" from Ryerson Angel Network when I was young and dumb and didn't close a dime. One guy said he wanted to invest but sheepish…

Not a Canadian angel but an early-stage fund (www.versiononeventures.com) - would love to talk to the start-ups you are mentioning - thx for making an intro.

Re: Why Startups Should Choose Canada Over Silicon Valley

#36

Post by bwertz »

jsingleton wrote: post #22
vecinu wrote: post #5

I have a few problems with this article, namely the comparisons drawn between The Valley and Canada. I am currently a Canadian citizen, working in San Francisco at a company that moved from Vancouver many years ago. The author seems to be comparing the Bay Area to the entirety of Canada. Canada is not a small area, a city or a state. It is an entire 'continent' spanning multiple provinces with very different laws and…

Agreed. A lot of people seem to be mentioning Toronto (never been) but can anyone comment on the tech/startup scene in Vancouver (loved it but it seems very small)?

There are a few really successful companies here in Vancouver (Hootsuite, Clio, Unbounce, A Thinking Ape, Indochino), a healthy early-stage ecosystem (LaunchAcademy, GrowLab) and a great pool of developers and designers (that's why you have Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple all having development offices in town)

Re: Why Startups Should Choose Canada Over Silicon Valley

#37

Post by MacsHeadroom »

kevingadd wrote: post #4

I'd love to choose Canada, but the last time I looked at the immigration 'points' system, they only want me if I have $500k+ USD worth of money to invest in the country (hah, as if I'd need to move if I did) or I'm a fluent French speaker...

Last time you checked was probably before last December's massive overhaul of the points system (which goes into effect in 4 weeks).

Hint: If you're an English speaking American with more than 5 years of work experience or a bachelors degree you have enough points- no investment fund needed.

See: http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2012/2012-08-18/html/reg2-eng....

Re: Why Startups Should Choose Canada Over Silicon Valley

#39

Post by fduran »

kevingadd wrote: post #4

I'd love to choose Canada, but the last time I looked at the immigration 'points' system, they only want me if I have $500k+ USD worth of money to invest in the country (hah, as if I'd need to move if I did) or I'm a fluent French speaker...

I think that's for the investor visa, I immigrated as a skilled worker (points system)

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/ , currently you only need to prove 11k in savings and the other requirements seem pretty accessible to anyone imho.

Re: Why Startups Should Choose Canada Over Silicon Valley

#40

Post by ryanpers »

vecinu wrote: post #17
dquail wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* Disclaimer - I wrote this post. Totally agree, Canada is incredibly diverse so this article is a bit overgeneralizing. Starting in Waterloo / Toronto / Vancouver / is night and day to Winnipeg (nothing against winnipeg). The main take away is to be wary of the hype in the valley. That pervades the culture. Everyone from investors to your family fill you up with hype. You don't get that in Canada. You've gotta fight…

I'm glad you had a great experience visiting Toronto and experiencing the startup culture there. I'm sure I'll see the area totally different when I return from SF and I may just find a role that I fit in very well. I totally agree with you about the over inflated hype currently in the valley. While this leads to a lot of failed startups and 'wrong' ideas being funded, I think it's still a healthy ecosystem for promo…

The hype and "over-investing" is deliberate.

Why?

Well, let's face it, the most revolutionary things have all started sounding silly and insane. People will buy things over computers without having actually seen or touched them? Humans will fly? Will travel to the moon? Everything is actually well modelled by equations that imply that everything is a wave and has probability it exists?

So just because YOU think it sounds crazy or insane, doesn't mean it doesn't have a chance at something big.

After all, who would want to communicate in 140 characters only, or have a real time feed of everything their friends do, or want tiny square pictures on their phone?

On the subject matter, I've lived in SF for a few years now and I was born in Canada. In the US people will give you a chance, in Canada companies want to know what you have done and get you to do more of it.

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