Canada's Start-up Visa • Hacker News Board

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#61

Post by wellboy » Mon, Jul 22, 2013, 4:07 PM UTC

rogerchucker wrote: post #52

Let's say an average person has a great idea but to come up with that idea she had to go through a lot of schooling and industry experience. Also she needed to earn enough to have a solid 11-13K bank balance. I have a feeling to attain these objectives that person would have to be in her mid-30s. How does a person at that age naturally adapt to a new country, when all she has experienced and adapted to so far is anot…

I think the Canadian VCs can take care of that, also since they are not lending the money, because it's an investment, not a loan. The founder doesn't have to return the money, if the money is gone and the company fails, the money is gone.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#62

Post by jhull » Mon, Jul 22, 2013, 4:10 PM UTC

If an American VC firm opens an office in Toronto, does that count as Canadian VC money?

Seems like a good idea for American VCs to open incubators in Canada. Would allow them to global deal flow while only worrying about the regulations of Canada. Plus its quicker to fly there.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#63

Post by geoka9 » Mon, Jul 22, 2013, 4:13 PM UTC

rogerchucker wrote: post #52

Let's say an average person has a great idea but to come up with that idea she had to go through a lot of schooling and industry experience. Also she needed to earn enough to have a solid 11-13K bank balance. I have a feeling to attain these objectives that person would have to be in her mid-30s. How does a person at that age naturally adapt to a new country, when all she has experienced and adapted to so far is anot…

Most of the new immigrants I know in Canada are in their early 30s. It turns out that this is the age when you are most likely to qualify for the skilled worker immigrant visa, based on your education, experience and savings.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#64

Post by tomjen3 » Mon, Jul 22, 2013, 4:14 PM UTC

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?

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#65

Post by turar » Mon, Jul 22, 2013, 4:14 PM UTC

goatforce5 wrote: post #55

adamgravitis wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The big part is this: you get the equivalent of a green card - Permanent Residency. The Minister's office actually did a lot of research into this thing before launching it, and consciously didn't want to put talented people into the awkward position a lot of H1B holders have when their visas expire and are forced to pack everything up and head home.

...and there's a very clear and easy path to get from Permanent Residency to Citizenship.

Timeline for citizenship is 5-6 years: 3 years of residency, after which you can apply for citizenship, which currently takes additional 2-3 years to get.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/canada/cit-pr...

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#66

Post by bzmwillemsen » Mon, Jul 22, 2013, 4:16 PM UTC

mjn wrote: post #31

enry_straker wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's canadian dollars, right?

I assume so, but the current exchange rate is 1.00 USD = 1.03 CAD, so it's more or less the same either way.

Yes it's CAD, as all figures on .gc.ca websites are.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#67

Post by kareemm » Mon, Jul 22, 2013, 4:19 PM UTC

untog wrote: post #36

Theoretically this is fantastic. I'm in the US on an H1B visa and there's no clear path for me to be able to start my own company. My visa still has a couple of years left on it, but this is something I will be watching closely. Of course, the US could implement a similar program in a heartbeat. And by "in a heartbeat", I mean "never, because the government in this country is utterly dysfunctional".

You can start a company with a US business partner on an H1B if you're a minority owner.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#68

Post by bzmwillemsen » Mon, Jul 22, 2013, 4:21 PM UTC

jhull wrote: post #62

If an American VC firm opens an office in Toronto, does that count as Canadian VC money? Seems like a good idea for American VCs to open incubators in Canada. Would allow them to global deal flow while only worrying about the regulations of Canada. Plus its quicker to fly there.

The Angel's and VC's need to be "designated." So simply starting a firm in Canada may not grant the firm access to this program. Looking through the very short list of "designated" VC's it is quite obvious (from a Canadian's point of view) that these are all very well established Canadian companies.

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#69

Post by nell » Mon, Jul 22, 2013, 4:23 PM UTC

kareemm wrote: post #67

untog wrote: post #36

Theoretically this is fantastic. I'm in the US on an H1B visa and there's no clear path for me to be able to start my own company. My visa still has a couple of years left on it, but this is something I will be watching closely. Of course, the US could implement a similar program in a heartbeat. And by "in a heartbeat", I mean "never, because the government in this country is utterly dysfunctional".

You can start a company with a US business partner on an H1B if you're a minority owner.

So, a H1B holder working for an employer can start a company if they hold a small equity?

Re: Canada's Start-up Visa

#70

Post by bzmwillemsen » Mon, Jul 22, 2013, 4:26 PM UTC

rogerchucker wrote: post #52

Let's say an average person has a great idea but to come up with that idea she had to go through a lot of schooling and industry experience. Also she needed to earn enough to have a solid 11-13K bank balance. I have a feeling to attain these objectives that person would have to be in her mid-30s. How does a person at that age naturally adapt to a new country, when all she has experienced and adapted to so far is anot…

Adapting to a new country is going to be hard no matter what country you go to. Canada is very well known for successfully mixing immigrants from many different cultural backgrounds into Canadian culture, there are many free programs in place, as well as many support groups. Canada's extremely diverse.