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Canada's Start-up Visa

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Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#151

Post by joshaidan »

There are a lot of smaller cities in Canada, i.e. cities that are not Vancouver, Toronto, Waterloo, Ottawa, etc. that are trying very hard to build their own start-up communities. You may want to consider these places if it suits your idea.

For example, I live in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and there are a lot of grants specific to our region because we're considered a northern community. Since we're smaller, there's less competition, and more people will be willing to help you and promote your startup.

Also, if you're startup is involved in medical research, definitely consider Thunder Bay because there is a big medical research community and it's one of the areas the city is trying really hard to build up.

Take a look at these websites for more information: http://www.nwoinnovation.ca/ http://www.tbrri.com/ (for medical related startups)

Lastly, the cost of living in places like Thunder Bay (in particular housing) is much more affordable.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#152

Post by jacquesm »

barryfandango wrote: post #145
jacquesm wrote: post #133

Some bits and pieces of info for those considering this: - remember to sign up for OHIP (or the local equivalent) as soon as you arrive, there is a time limit on how long you can wait before signing up after arriving in Canada. If you don't do this in time you will not be covered. - Canada has some pretty severe weather in the winter, everywhere except for the area around Niagara falls and Vancouver. The latter is th…

Whether rural life in Canada is brutal depends on where you're from. And your definition of brutal. Between 20 minutes north of Toronto and the start of the Arctic Circle there is a fair bit of variation. If you grew up in the desert and have never lived anywhere cold, you might find it brutal. If you come from somewhere that has snowy winters and you don't mind bundling up you might find that you love Canadian winte…

A couple of years on St. Joseph's Island have given me enough snow to last me a lifetime ;)

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#153

Post by usmanbashir »

scott_karana wrote: post #86
Achshar wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually want to set up a startup. But undecided on location, my current location will not do. I really want to go to valley, ideally get into YC itself, but the barrier to entry is high. How would you say is the startup culture over there in canada? How does it stack up against places like valley, london or NYC? Other and more accessible option for me is Banglore, no visa required (I am from India).

Ask yourself this: if you've never heard of startup culture in Canada, what is that indicative of? :) (Saying this sadly, as I'm a Canadian)

It's not that Canada lacks a startup culture, it's just a smaller playground then SF or NYC.

But besides all this, there are popular and noteworthy startups based in Canada, like HootSuite, Shopify, 500px, UrtheCast and Freshbooks.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#154

Post by potatolicious »

gabemart wrote: post #144
potatolicious wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is correct. The skilled immigration program is not a catch-all for smart people, it's specifically designed to grow the economy in a planned direction, as well as to fulfill shortages that are anticipated to/already exist.

I'm actually no longer sure that I am right, unless you have another source. The website states [1]: > You must have at least one year of full time experience in the last ten years in a management or > professional or highly skilled occupation. These are listed as Skill Type O, Skill Type A or Skill > Type B on the National Occupation Classification List. You will find further details in our > skilled worker guide. A…

Yeah, I'm pretty confused now that I read the official federal government site. I suggest you contact a lawyer if you want a definitive answer.

But my reading of it:

- If you do not have a job offer, you must fall under a listed shortage occupation (i.e., not the entirety of the Type 0, A, and B lists).

- If you do have a job offer (a good enough job offer, at that) in a Type 0, A, or B occupation, you do not need to be in a shortage class.

This makes some logical sense. If you don't have a guaranteed job coming into Canada, it makes sense for the government to ensure you are in a shortage occupation to maximize your odds of actually being employed.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#155

Post by tempestn »

ritchiea wrote: post #136
mjn wrote: post #16

Summary of the conditions: - Secure $75k in angel funding or $200k in venture funding, from a list of designated Canadian funders. - Score relatively highly on a language test in either English or French, for both verbal and written ability (note that everyone must take this test, even those coming from English- or French-speaking countries). - Have satisfactorily completed at least one year of higher education (no d…

Isn't having 11k around a slightly high bar? Do most under 25 founders have that kind of cash lying around? And if you are the kind of foreigner that has that kind of North American cash in your account you probably come from a family who isn't hard up for Canadian citizenship or have already experienced some business success.

I imagine if you managed 50k in angel funding or 200k VC, you can probably scrounge together 11k somehow. You may well be able to borrow it personally from your existing backers if they're already willing to fund your company. You will need to eat and pay rent for the first few months at the very least, so you'll need to have some money.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#156

Post by jacquesm »

joshaidan wrote: post #151

There are a lot of smaller cities in Canada, i.e. cities that are not Vancouver, Toronto, Waterloo, Ottawa, etc. that are trying very hard to build their own start-up communities. You may want to consider these places if it suits your idea. For example, I live in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and there are a lot of grants specific to our region because we're considered a northern community. Since we're smaller, there's less…

Housing in Thunder Bay is much more affordable because it's in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful place, great steakhouse but not exactly a start-up hotbed.

Of course, if you really only need an internet connection and a couch then it might actually be an advantage but for most start-ups (apparently outside the medical research ones but those are few and far between) access to facilities, a nearby university, a pool of schooled talent to pick from and capital are their lifeblood.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#157

Post by tomjen3 »

kenster07 wrote: post #72
tomjen3 wrote: post #64

There is only one problem with this: it is Canada, not the US. Why would I want to do a start-up in Canada, rather than say the UK or Germany or Chile?

Care to elaborate?

Yes, what does Canada offer that the UK doesn't? Same language, both have a Queen both have a functional government that mostly respects other peoples rights.

The US has a great ecosystem for start-ups. Does Canada?

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#158

Post by jacquesm »

ritchiea wrote: post #147
jacquesm wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$11K is irresponsibly low if that's your savings when you move from one country to another, even if your start-up is somewhat funded. After all, your chances of success are just as low as every other funded start-up and you're going to have nothing but your savings and your skills to fall back on in an unknown market if your start-up should fail. Personally I think that $50K in savings is more in line with realistic…

Well who are they trying to attract with this visa? If you are the kind of person that has 50K in savings, is this startup visa really going to help you? If you have 50K in savings you are already wealthy on a global scale even though you are not really a person of high net worth (after all to have 50K in savings you have to have earned a healthy income in some line of work that allows you to save or have a wealthy f…

> Well who are they trying to attract with this visa?

That's an excellent question. My take on this is that by being more open to start-ups Canada hopes that if the numbers are high enough that they'll have another RIM on their hands one of these days. It costs them next to nothing (the venture capitalists / angels are picking up the tab) and they get more skilled workers either way.

I think quite a few entrepreneurs will see this as a way of moving to the states without the drawbacks (it's North America, after all) and may eventually use it as a stepping stone to the US if they're successful.

Compared to London, Berlin, Prague or Hamburg I'd stay in Europe if I had to make the choice.

If you already have a life on the go in some other place $50K is peanuts when moving to another continent. I've done it and even though we were pretty well prepared for the move the first year was astoundingly expensive. (family of 3).

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#159

Post by rdouble »

tomjen3 wrote: post #157
kenster07 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Care to elaborate?

Yes, what does Canada offer that the UK doesn't? Same language, both have a Queen both have a functional government that mostly respects other peoples rights. The US has a great ecosystem for start-ups. Does Canada?

If you're from another commonwealth country it's a lot easier to migrate to Canada than it is the USA. Regarding what could be more attractive than the UK: there's more open space, cheaper housing, better schools, mountains, etc.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#160

Post by mjn »

ritchiea wrote: post #136
mjn wrote: post #16

Summary of the conditions: - Secure $75k in angel funding or $200k in venture funding, from a list of designated Canadian funders. - Score relatively highly on a language test in either English or French, for both verbal and written ability (note that everyone must take this test, even those coming from English- or French-speaking countries). - Have satisfactorily completed at least one year of higher education (no d…

Isn't having 11k around a slightly high bar? Do most under 25 founders have that kind of cash lying around? And if you are the kind of foreigner that has that kind of North American cash in your account you probably come from a family who isn't hard up for Canadian citizenship or have already experienced some business success.

That part's the same with the skills-based immigration visa (not specific to the startup visa). The motivation is that they want people who enter the country to have enough cash on hand to be able to pay for an apartment deposit, and their initial rent, food, etc. until they get an income stream flowing. If someone enters the country with only, say, $500 cash on hand, there's a significant chance they could end up homeless and/or needing to draw on social-welfare services almost immediately if their anticipated income stream falls through or is delayed. Requiring them to have a cash cushion means the person should be able to take care of themselves even if there are some early troubles.
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