5 ms·

The Canadian visa might sound appealing at first blush but won't help for ycombinator founders as far as I know. To be eligible you need to have funding from a

The Canadian visa might sound appealing at first blush but won't help for ycombinator founders as far as I know. To be eligible you need to have funding from a canadian venture fund, see below. I guess ycombinator could setup a Canadian fund and apply for the funding eligibility, but with the principles being mostly American and living in the US, I'm guessing it would be a very tough sell. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/business/start-up/eligibility/entities.asp http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/business/start-up/eli...

JamilD 10y ago
I'm sure if YC opened up a Canadian branch they could be one of the accepted incubators. The federal government seems keen on trying to make Canada a home for startups, even if it hasn't been a totally successful effort yet.
Eridrus 10y ago
In the medium term, I'm sure YC can find Canadian funding sources if they wanted to do this.
- uiri 10y ago
  As a Canadian, I'm doubtful that this is the case. There is a reason why almost all Canadian startups seek funding South of the border. In Canada, it is easier to get government grants than it is to secure venture capital.
  - Eridrus 10y ago
    I feel like YC, with it's long record would have an easier time attracting capital than an individual startup.
    - rdl 10y ago
      Canadian YC alums alone would be more than sufficient to provide the capital for this, if necessary.
      - uiri 10y ago
        I don't think that it has anything to do with there not being enough capital available in Canada but rather the risk tolerance of most Canadian investors. I wouldn't be surprised if those YC alumni were hesitant to make more bets on the startup roulette wheel. I'm not saying that venture capital/angel investing is gambling per se but most Canadians, even past startup founders, probably see it that way.
- bobosha 10y ago
  Canadian founder who relocated my startup to US for funding reasons here. It is very hard to secure seed level funding. The mindset is very un-SV unfortunately. But that could change rapidly if we see a few pillar companies emerge, but that's a big if.
miraj 10y ago
actually Canada just announced another visa pilot program for temporary workers i.e. "Global Talent": "Canada to make skilled-worker permits easier to get in wake of U.S. delays" https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canada-to-make-skilled-worker-permits-easier-to-get-in-wake-of-us-delays/article34246962/ https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canada-t...
- K0SM0S 10y ago
  They're moving damn fast about it. Protests and Moby's posts are one thing, but when an administration/state gets involved, and more importantly when money is put on the table, you can tell things are happening. I don't how far this'll go, but I wouldn't be surprised if some places relatively 'close' to SF/Bay (say from Vancouver to perhaps Mexico) became sort of a surburb for less-demanding offices (think: grade A workers/projects in SF/Bay, everything else remotely to save costs and troubles with US immigration).
spitfire 10y ago
Oh please no. Leave the VC reality distortion field south of the border please. We don't need YC ruining Canada with hopped up "startup" bros. If we even need more VC firms (I don't think we do), let indie VC or something like it come up. Edit: This isn't meant to mean people shouldn't start companies here. They should. But they should do it firmly grounded in reality, not based in SV VC world which has very little to do with building solid long term businesses.
- exacube 10y ago
  maybe you don't mean it, but the way you speak sounds very judgemental and not-in-my-backyardy.
- mediocrejoker 10y ago
  Haven't pretty much all of the largest tech companies been started with VC funding?
- sdflkd 10y ago
  I agree! Canada needs to continue giving depressed wages for the same/more work to its talented citizens and then just complain passive aggressively when they move down south.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- dang 10y ago
  > We don't need YC ruining Canada with hopped up "startup" bros. As a Canadian who once got funded by YC and is no "\"startup\" bro" I wince at this comment, which is beyond inaccurate. So is the bit about solid long-term businesses—I can tell you from plenty of first-hand observation that you're quite wrong in YC's case.

JamilD 10y ago

I'm sure if YC opened up a Canadian branch they could be one of the accepted incubators. The federal government seems keen on trying to make Canada a home for startups, even if it hasn't been a totally successful effort yet.

Eridrus 10y ago

In the medium term, I'm sure YC can find Canadian funding sources if they wanted to do this.

uiri 10y ago
As a Canadian, I'm doubtful that this is the case. There is a reason why almost all Canadian startups seek funding South of the border. In Canada, it is easier to get government grants than it is to secure venture capital.
- Eridrus 10y ago
  I feel like YC, with it's long record would have an easier time attracting capital than an individual startup.
  - rdl 10y ago
    Canadian YC alums alone would be more than sufficient to provide the capital for this, if necessary.
    - uiri 10y ago
      I don't think that it has anything to do with there not being enough capital available in Canada but rather the risk tolerance of most Canadian investors. I wouldn't be surprised if those YC alumni were hesitant to make more bets on the startup roulette wheel. I'm not saying that venture capital/angel investing is gambling per se but most Canadians, even past startup founders, probably see it that way.
bobosha 10y ago
Canadian founder who relocated my startup to US for funding reasons here. It is very hard to secure seed level funding. The mindset is very un-SV unfortunately. But that could change rapidly if we see a few pillar companies emerge, but that's a big if.

miraj 10y ago

actually Canada just announced another visa pilot program for temporary workers i.e. "Global Talent": "Canada to make skilled-worker permits easier to get in wake of U.S. delays" https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canada-to-make-skilled-worker-permits-easier-to-get-in-wake-of-us-delays/article34246962/ https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canada-t...

K0SM0S 10y ago
They're moving damn fast about it. Protests and Moby's posts are one thing, but when an administration/state gets involved, and more importantly when money is put on the table, you can tell things are happening. I don't how far this'll go, but I wouldn't be surprised if some places relatively 'close' to SF/Bay (say from Vancouver to perhaps Mexico) became sort of a surburb for less-demanding offices (think: grade A workers/projects in SF/Bay, everything else remotely to save costs and troubles with US immigration).

spitfire 10y ago

Oh please no. Leave the VC reality distortion field south of the border please. We don't need YC ruining Canada with hopped up "startup" bros. If we even need more VC firms (I don't think we do), let indie VC or something like it come up. Edit: This isn't meant to mean people shouldn't start companies here. They should. But they should do it firmly grounded in reality, not based in SV VC world which has very little to do with building solid long term businesses.

exacube 10y ago
maybe you don't mean it, but the way you speak sounds very judgemental and not-in-my-backyardy.
mediocrejoker 10y ago
Haven't pretty much all of the largest tech companies been started with VC funding?
sdflkd 10y ago
I agree! Canada needs to continue giving depressed wages for the same/more work to its talented citizens and then just complain passive aggressively when they move down south.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
dang 10y ago
> We don't need YC ruining Canada with hopped up "startup" bros. As a Canadian who once got funded by YC and is no "\"startup\" bro" I wince at this comment, which is beyond inaccurate. So is the bit about solid long-term businesses—I can tell you from plenty of first-hand observation that you're quite wrong in YC's case.