Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Y Combinator website no longer lists Canada as a country it invests in

betakit.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 161 posts

Re: Y Combinator website no longer lists Canada as a country it invests in

#91

Post by compiledkoala »

throwup238 wrote: post #70

This whole move is about corporate governance. The US makes it really easy to start or manage corporations and the courts are (mostly) streamlined and predictable, especially the chancery courts in Delaware. Cayman Islands adopted much of Delaware's legal approach to corporations in 2016 to make the island more business friendly rather than just a tax haven, and they've got a foot in the Latin American market. Singap…

This exactly. Canadian common law has some very odd implications for corporate governance. Much higher risk of governance deadlock due to recent rulings.

VCs are not going to know that when evaluating a company. YC as the incubator and the first check in has an obligation to vet the situation for future investors. The easiest way for them to do that at scale is to ensure they are experts in a very small number of jurisdictions that are predictable.

Honestly, it makes sense.

Re: Y Combinator website no longer lists Canada as a country it invests in

#92

Post by oooopppppppp »

anon291 wrote: post #86
ooooppppppp wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Attractiveness to talent? Fairly senior dev, US citizen here (20 years experience). After what I've seen this past year, but more the past month, I will work for peanuts for a path to citizenship in Canada. US in 5 years is not a place I want to be, looking into all options and very serious.

It is difficult to take anyone worried about the US seriously when their solution to protect themselves is to move to Canada. Not saying anyone's right or wrong but the idea that, should America go psycho, Canada would somehow be okay is a pipe dream. Canada is essentially an outpost of the United States. Yes, I have Canadian family (even old stock "Loyalist" Canadian family) and they all feel the same way. People ne…

It's a step improvement: It gets you over the border to a comparable place while being close enough to family for now. The risk of "borders are secure now, nobody gets to leave" is non-zero in the US' future. The way political litmus tests are affecting civil rights here is scary as hell too.

On the military angle, I'd much rather live in a country without nukes. But I'm willing to kick the nuclear blackmail risk can down the road, my own government's threats are way more immediate.

Re: Y Combinator website no longer lists Canada as a country it invests in

#93

Post by SirSavary »

RobRivera wrote: post #87
kdazzle wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

[flagged]

Yes, because when you hold credentials granted by a board of professionals that require you to sign a code of ethics, using those credentials to amplify your personal opinions comes with accountability.

To be specific: telling people "you're free to leave at any point" when they express concerns about humanity's impact on the planet is the kind of thing psychology boards take issue with, particularly when it comes from someone with a large platform and professional credentials in mental health.

Re: Y Combinator website no longer lists Canada as a country it invests in

#94

Post by jojobas »

kdazzle wrote: post #67
garbawarb wrote: post #5

> “It’s the Valley-or-bust mentality that breaks the ecosystem and really hurts Canada,” Gomez said. Canadian pride isn't enough to keep a company in Canada. There are real and significant economic incentives to move elsewhere. That said, it's disappointing that YC no longer supports Canadian companies.

[flagged]

[flagged]

Re: Y Combinator website no longer lists Canada as a country it invests in

#95

Post by mrtksn »

kdazzle wrote: post #67
garbawarb wrote: post #5

> “It’s the Valley-or-bust mentality that breaks the ecosystem and really hurts Canada,” Gomez said. Canadian pride isn't enough to keep a company in Canada. There are real and significant economic incentives to move elsewhere. That said, it's disappointing that YC no longer supports Canadian companies.

[flagged]

[flagged]

Re: Y Combinator website no longer lists Canada as a country it invests in

#96

Post by cowpig »

buckle8017 wrote: post #10
adfm wrote: post #4

Is it politically motivated or does it have to do with Canadian tech not requiring investment because of its stability?

Shopify is basically the only really successful Canadian start-up. It's very hard to run a very small business here.

> It's very hard to run a very small business here.

What do you find makes it hard to run a small business in Canada?

Re: Y Combinator website no longer lists Canada as a country it invests in

#97

Post by lotsofpulp »

trollbridge wrote: post #71
curmudgeon22 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are definitely still health insurance benefits (I'm Canadian). Yes, our doctor and hospital visits are covered, but many things are covered by employer paid insurance (or not at all): - prescription medicine - dental - vision - mental health - things like physiotherapy

Yeah, correct, but it's not going to be a $4000/mo line item expense for the employer per employee. I don't have to deal with this as we are a (very) small business but it's a major headache for larger small businesses. Basically, as an employer it simply isn't fun to be forced to be in the "providing access to healthcare" business when that's not your core business.

>Basically, as an employer it simply isn't fun to be forced to be in the "providing access to healthcare" business when that's not your core business.

It is for most large employers as it helps depress salaries and reduce competition from startups. Employees will want to work for a large employer that lets them pay for health insurance with pre-tax dollars, among other tax advantaged benefits that having a well funded HR department can provide. And employees cannot easily compare compensation at other employers so they are more likely to stick around than shop around, reducing the need to increase pay to keep up with the market.

Employers can also tweak compensation by modifying deductibles/out of pocket maximums/healthcare provider networks, and most people's eyes will glaze over before they can figure out if they got an increase or decrease in their total compensation.

Re: Y Combinator website no longer lists Canada as a country it invests in

#100

Post by Onavo »

compiledkoala wrote: post #91
throwup238 wrote: post #70

This whole move is about corporate governance. The US makes it really easy to start or manage corporations and the courts are (mostly) streamlined and predictable, especially the chancery courts in Delaware. Cayman Islands adopted much of Delaware's legal approach to corporations in 2016 to make the island more business friendly rather than just a tax haven, and they've got a foot in the Latin American market. Singap…

This exactly. Canadian common law has some very odd implications for corporate governance. Much higher risk of governance deadlock due to recent rulings. VCs are not going to know that when evaluating a company. YC as the incubator and the first check in has an obligation to vet the situation for future investors. The easiest way for them to do that at scale is to ensure they are experts in a very small number of jur…

What are some of the recent rulings that make it high risk?
Post reply on HN