Vancouver suffers from many problems but one really big one kills startups. Primarily, risk adversity is a common trait in investors and founders here. The Lean/MVP model does not lend itself to building BIG companies because its a bit (not totally) absurd to think that a company that needs 10-30 MIT gold standard engineers to conceive can be bootstrapped. Talking about the "startup scene" is a waste of time until real efforts are put together to make real companies that solve hard enterprise class problems or uncover 2-5 year forward looking, undeveloped markets.
In America, as pointed out time and again by the upper echelon in the Vancouver startup circles, people actually take these forward looking risks because the payoff is just too sweet if it comes through. Bootup is notable for pushing the boulder up the hill, Danny R and Co. are a scrappy fighters thats for sure.
For instance, even a SR&ED/IRAP intensive startup with a potential BIG idea (which is a stunning program @fiveo from the standpoint of the unemotional-observational economist) meets the common phrases that investors in Vancouver rely on to skate away. "its too early" "i need to see a working prototype making profit with tons of traction" "its not scalable". And kudos to them, they worked damn hard to build a life(style) here and don't want to burn their precious money into cinders.
As a proven and skilled technician, I can say that I have met many talented PhD's and engineers in Vancouver, now in Palo Alto. Someone with 2-5 years success in technology is worth about 90k a year, and that wage is nigh unachievable in B.C. Too often we leave for the states, myself included, because their are too many tagalongs who don't actually understand the minutiae involved in how specific technologies create value across international markets. Too many evangelists and mentors, not enough mature engineers who work with tenacity, intensity ,focus and audacity.
Perhaps this type of discussion can be better studied by a thought experiment. How would you start a company like the awesome Palantir Inc in Vancouver? Give us a thoughtful, unbiased analysis that spells out to investors the reduction of risk and the chance to make a 10X exit in a tough hostile and messy business environment. This is a good case study for MBA types.