Canada's Start-up Visa • Hacker News Board

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#211

Post by obstacle1 » Tue, Jul 23, 2013, 2:26 AM UTC

guiomie wrote: post #201

purephase wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

KW has been/is largely fuelled by RIM/BlackBerry and the University of Waterloo. If the situation gets any worse for BlackBerry, you'll see an enormous brain drain and capital leave the area. Ottawa is the country's capital and some tech companies there are doing quite well (Shopify in particular).

I agree with Shopify, but what else ? I thought Toronto and KW were the only cities with a good startup ecosystem. As far as I am concern, Washington DC isnt the startup capital of the US, so why would Ottawa be? In my opinion government shouldn't be a driver of capital in startups, nor is it ... ?

For what it's worth, when I mentioned Ottawa it wasn't because it's a startup hub, though there is an increasing startup scene there of which Shopify is a part. OP asked about tech cities, not startup cities, and Ottawa definitely makes the cut in that respect.

Much of tech in Ottawa is mid- to large-size IT/gov't contracting and telecoms. As for smaller firms, not many are setting out to build the Next Big Turnkey Ruby App. But there are tons of companies aiming to fill niche enterprise/government needs, e.g. [1], [2], many many more.

[1] - http://www.trademerit.com/

[2] - http://www.truenorthavionics.com/

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#212

Post by obstacle1 » Tue, Jul 23, 2013, 2:28 AM UTC

speeder wrote: post #202

scott_karana wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

You people forgot the games industry in Canada... Beside canadians participating in some large game jams and having cool events there, Quebec state is the second largest games producer in the world (behind US, and above the entire Japan)

Maybe pedantic, but Quebec is a province, not a state. A lot of game development happens in Montreal especially.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#213

Post by dean » Tue, Jul 23, 2013, 2:55 AM UTC

eigenvector wrote: post #190

jt2190 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You would think it would be that simple, but you really need to look at it from the investor's point of view: What is my ROI if invest my money this way instead of that way? More unattractive investments won't help the tech startup community grow. My suspicion[1] is that the thing that will really fix this is changing the way that investors are taxed on their capital gains and losses. [1] Been a while since I lived i…

That's not correct. Interest is taxed progressively like any other income, dividends are somewhat taxed according to a complex formula, and 50% of your capital gains are taxed at the applicable marginal tax rate depending on your income.

"50% of your capital gains are taxed"

True, but that is an exemption that gets used up. There is a $750,000 lifetime capital gains exemption. Which most people don't hit, but a successful founder could.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#214

Post by oscargrouch » Tue, Jul 23, 2013, 2:56 AM UTC

Nah.. Think i will pass.. i prefer establish myself in Rio (already a brazillian citizen by birth .. rsrs) better weather.. same level of funding ..

but it kind of have make me wonder.. for some time.. (pretty good news anyway)

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#215

Post by bvi » Tue, Jul 23, 2013, 3:05 AM UTC

querulous wrote: post #198

goatforce5 wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW my Permanent Residency came in way faster than the time that was published at the time. The estimate is based on "processing time from receipt of application to final decision for 80% of cases". The rather excellent British Expats (not just for Brits!) forum users keep track of the various processing times of Canadian immigration applications. http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=33 British Expats f…

I got my PR in months but I've been waiting for citizenship now for 2.5 years

Through which category did you get your PR?

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#216

Post by bdamm » Tue, Jul 23, 2013, 3:50 AM UTC

brm wrote: post #209

bparsons wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't say enough about Vancouver. The skytrain will take you from the YVR arrivals terminal right downtown. Cost is 6 bucks, and you will be at your apartment or hotel in 20-30 minutes. The city is most the most walkable in the world, with almost no need for a car (unless you really like to go on weekend road trips). Crime is extremely low right now, and the city economy is very solid. With TED moving to the city nex…

Most walkable city in the world? Do you have sources to back this?

I'm from Vancouver and I've lived in San Francisco. Compared the SF, the city is very walkable and the transit is far more efficient than SF's Muni, which crawls like a croaking dog. I never thought I'd say that transit in Vancouver is better than in other cities, having been part of the fight to get more transit funding in Vancouver, but it's not bad.

SkyTrain is the most beautiful rapid transit line I've ever been on.

Best in the world though? Not sure - I'd like to see it compared to Zurich or Hong Kong or Amsterdam in that regard.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#217

Post by bdamm » Tue, Jul 23, 2013, 4:06 AM UTC

potatolicious wrote: post #177

WildUtah wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget the ice that forms on the inside surface of your glasses below about -10º. And the way you can be sweating on one part of your body even as another part is being frost-bitten. Then when you adjust your coats and scarfs the sweating part will cool down and the sweat will start to freeze leading to frostbite there, too.

Ugh. "Ice sweats" I call it. It's pretty bad when you've got a scarf wrapped around your face, and your breath condenses into ice that makes the scarf hard with ice. Then when you go indoors all the ice melts and your scarf turns into a goopy mess. Oh Ontario winters, how I do not miss thee.

Global warming will clean it up anyway.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#218

Post by falk » Tue, Jul 23, 2013, 4:37 AM UTC

If Canada wants to attract start-ups, they should get rid of software patents.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#219

Post by nandemo » Tue, Jul 23, 2013, 5:00 AM UTC

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…

I take it that you haven't been in the position of having to enter the US as a visitor? You might be required to prove you have enough money to cover your stay just to get a tourist visa (or even a transit one).

For a permanent visa, requiring $10k savings is pretty reasonable. If you've been working as a programmer or engineer in the developed world, you should be able to save that much in 1 year, give or take a few months. If you're in an emergent country, 2 years or so.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#220

Post by anovikov » Tue, Jul 23, 2013, 5:14 AM UTC

MisterWebz wrote: post #173

anovikov wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My guess is that trying Amsterdam, or Berlin is a safer bet. Apart from mature startup culture, for you as an Indian, these places also have an advantage of being relatively close, timezone-wise, to both U.S. (at least East Coast) which will be most probably your main market, and India where you will probably hire people.

How's the startup culture in Amsterdam and Berlin?

In Amsterdam there is a famously strong one, best in Europe (while nothing compared to the Valley). Berlin is also a nice place in this respect, i know a few guys in Eastern Europe who worked in startups there. Berlin is a very unusual city because while being a capital of one of topmost tech countries in the world, it enjoys cheap rent and cost of living/doing business (because it's not overcrowded yet, legacy of the separation era, quite opposite to say, London).