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How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

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Re: How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

#141

Post by sershe »

deepspace wrote: post #13

As someone who has worked in the Canadian tech scene for 25 years, and rode two startups all the way to exit (i.e. acquisition by US companies), in my opinion the problem has nothing to do with exit mindset, good angels, bad angels or SRED. It is all about talent retention. Up until early 2000, Canadian tech salaries at least somewhat kept pace with US salaries, albeit 20-30% lower. After the dot com crash, however,…

I can confirm that.. In 2010 I was looking for jobs in Vancouver after working for a US company there for the US-level salary, and the salaries in local companies were sorta ridiculous. I moved to the USA.

Btw, it was also really difficult to find a primary care doctor in Vancouver at the time, when I finally found one taking patients after a while, he (an older guy who I assume just like living where he grew up) told me that the reason is that all the doctors move to the USA if they can.

Re: How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

#142

Post by sershe »

HDMI_Cable wrote: post #116
blueblisters wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Canada is bringing 400,000+ new immigrants per year until 2023 for permanent residence status Canada is adding > 1% of its population in immigrants every year? I am curious if that is sustainable politically and economically. I suspect this will only drive down tech wages even further and put pressure on local housing markets, utilities, healthcare and social programs.

There's this movement in Canadian political circles that calls for us to have a population of ~100 million by 2100.[1] Their argument is essentially that Canada has a lot of space (especially with climate change and all [2]), and by bringing in a lot of people from other countries, that will make Canada a more competitive country on the world stage. In my personal opinion, I don't have anything against the movement,…

Doesn't Canada have special immigration programs for specific provinces that are better/offer faster path to citizenship/etc. to try to solve this problem? I am pretty sure I remember Quebec had one that was better than BC (I used to be an immigrant in BC).

Re: How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

#143

Post by danbolt »

MattGaiser wrote: post #108
mdtusz wrote: post #43

I know many will disagree, but I think the commentary on SR&ED killing momentum and motivation in startups is bang on, even though it's a nearly impossible thing to measure or quantify. I'm sure many fellow Canadians reading this comment can relate to the absolute draining feeling when you see that message "remember to update your SR&ED timesheets by the end of the week!". Time tracking isn't inherently bad, or count…

And all the time wasted on SR&ED. My manager is constantly pulled away to fill out some document to do with it.

I can't tell if the worst part of SR&ED is management pulling you away to document your work for tax credits or management hoping you'll lie about your work for tax credits.

Re: How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

#144

Post by HDMI_Cable »

sershe wrote: post #142
HDMI_Cable wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's this movement in Canadian political circles that calls for us to have a population of ~100 million by 2100.[1] Their argument is essentially that Canada has a lot of space (especially with climate change and all [2]), and by bringing in a lot of people from other countries, that will make Canada a more competitive country on the world stage. In my personal opinion, I don't have anything against the movement,…

Doesn't Canada have special immigration programs for specific provinces that are better/offer faster path to citizenship/etc. to try to solve this problem? I am pretty sure I remember Quebec had one that was better than BC (I used to be an immigrant in BC).

I think its done on a federal level, its just that they make it easier to immigrate to some regions (like Quebec) vs other regions (like BC).

Re: How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

#145

Post by triceratops »

3pt14159 wrote: post #63
triceratops wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most of our workers don't work as hard and they don't have to worry about healthcare costs. I appreciate that you wrote such an otherwise thoughtful post. But as a founder, I think this may be a blind spot for you. Most SV tech employees also don't have to worry about healthcare costs in any meaningful way. At every company I've worked at in the Bay Area, I've only done more than the standard 40 hours/week when I w…

Well, I appreciate the response. I'm not saying that the difference is huge, just that I've noticed it. The Americans I've worked with seem to get a little bit more done, generally speaking, than the Canadians. Not enough to make up for the difference, but still. And of course we're talking about distributions of productivity here. One of the fastest developers I've ever worked with was French Canadian. I know Americ…

> I'm comparing your typical 50 person startup to a typical 50 person startup in Canada...I could make $200 CAD in Toronto. Shrug.

It's been a couple of years since I last looked. But I don't know any 50-person startup in Toronto that pays that much. If you know specific names... :-)

Re: How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

#146

Post by guytv »

DanHulton wrote: post #20
deepspace wrote: post #13

As someone who has worked in the Canadian tech scene for 25 years, and rode two startups all the way to exit (i.e. acquisition by US companies), in my opinion the problem has nothing to do with exit mindset, good angels, bad angels or SRED. It is all about talent retention. Up until early 2000, Canadian tech salaries at least somewhat kept pace with US salaries, albeit 20-30% lower. After the dot com crash, however,…

Literally just left a really enjoyable job with a Toronto company for a California company that pays 50% more. This is completely correct.

Curious here. if you factor in cost of living differences, what is the resulting uplift?

Re: How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

#147

Post by ghosty-discord »

deepspace wrote: post #13

As someone who has worked in the Canadian tech scene for 25 years, and rode two startups all the way to exit (i.e. acquisition by US companies), in my opinion the problem has nothing to do with exit mindset, good angels, bad angels or SRED. It is all about talent retention. Up until early 2000, Canadian tech salaries at least somewhat kept pace with US salaries, albeit 20-30% lower. After the dot com crash, however,…

why would big companies setting up shops there in Canada would increase draining away talent

Re: How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

#148

Post by raydev »

MartianSquirrel wrote: post #35

Disclaimer: Clearly biased, I am from Montreal. > That’s part of why I think that if any city in Canada has the potential to actually develop a Bay Area grade startup scene (smaller, sure, but actually the real thing), it’s clearly Montreal I would have to agree with the conclusion of this article, Montreal has: (i) 5 universities very close to each other(i.e. 10 to 20 minutes walk from each other) + Great public tra…

It's tough to get solid info, but aren't tech salaries in MTL like 70% of Toronto's?

Re: How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

#149

Post by MartianSquirrel »

raydev wrote: post #148
MartianSquirrel wrote: post #35

Disclaimer: Clearly biased, I am from Montreal. > That’s part of why I think that if any city in Canada has the potential to actually develop a Bay Area grade startup scene (smaller, sure, but actually the real thing), it’s clearly Montreal I would have to agree with the conclusion of this article, Montreal has: (i) 5 universities very close to each other(i.e. 10 to 20 minutes walk from each other) + Great public tra…

It's tough to get solid info, but aren't tech salaries in MTL like 70% of Toronto's?

I cannot say for sure. My personal income is the same I would get in Toronto, but it's anecdotal. I know they are slightly lower on average, but when you factor in the cost of living (rent is 2x higher in TO) it is probably very similar. On the other side, I would say the quality of life is much better in MTL, as the public transportation is better, people do not live as far and are closer to the various activities, etc.

Re: How the Canadian Tech Scene Encourages Finite Gameplay

#150

Post by jonwithoutanh »

DanHulton wrote: post #20
deepspace wrote: post #13

As someone who has worked in the Canadian tech scene for 25 years, and rode two startups all the way to exit (i.e. acquisition by US companies), in my opinion the problem has nothing to do with exit mindset, good angels, bad angels or SRED. It is all about talent retention. Up until early 2000, Canadian tech salaries at least somewhat kept pace with US salaries, albeit 20-30% lower. After the dot com crash, however,…

Literally just left a really enjoyable job with a Toronto company for a California company that pays 50% more. This is completely correct.

I made a similar move in BC and went from ~60k CAD a year to ~170k CAD. It's tougher work for the American start up but the pay differential is too big to not take advantage of. I feel like I'm throwing years of my life away to work if I work for a Canadian company.

The work is remote, I still live in the same place, but I've increased my income by 3x, I don't see how I could justify staying with a Canadian company.

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