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>Don't believe that they will eventually make all that much money That is a pattern I've noticed in Canada in contrast to the US in fact; We settle for "good e

>Don't believe that they will eventually make all that much money That is a pattern I've noticed in Canada in contrast to the US in fact; We settle for "good enough" or "profitable" but not the "moonshots" or strive to be "the best". Whether in tech, business, or even global influence, we are a "middle power" and we seem happy about it (my high school politics teacher explains that this is a result of constantly being the US's little brother). This makes me immensely unhappy, and I hope to make Canada more ambitious one day.

Tokkemon 9y ago
I'm sure one could make the argument that if it wasn't the US, it was Great Britain's influence as well. Canada was always second-rate compared to England and they never let us forget it. It's ingrained into the psyche of all Canadians in some way. Also a century of political monotony didn't help.
- deaddodo 9y ago
  Hey now. The US asked [the Canadian provinces] to join them. They were completely happy trading furs and being second place, well before the US' existence.
frandroid 9y ago
> We settle for "good enough" The main problem is investment. You just don't have the investment capital in Canada that you can get in the U.S. I'm not just talking tech, but throughout the economy. Lots of successful Canadian SMEs get bought out by Americans because there's no one here who has the balls to invest in them. In many cases, their (head) offices are moved to the U.S., further reducing the economic impact they had here and making the U.S. economy stronger. Canada is a perpetual SME incubator feeding the U.S. economy.
- linkregister 9y ago
  There are numerous counterexamples throughout the Canadian economy: banking, oil & gas, mining, agriculture, etc. Software investment is probably the only sector that is undercapitalized in Canada.
  - jamiek88 9y ago
    Well you've basically stated those industries that are specifically and geographically tied to Canada. Of course commodities and the financial system to support them as well as local consumer banking have that funding. All nations do. It is the 'soft' economy outside of that where the differences lie.
    - linkregister 9y ago
      There are at least 50 nations that receive most of their financing from foreign sources.
  - frandroid 9y ago
    > Banking You know something funny I've learned recently? The top three owners of the 4 largest Canadian banks are... Each other. > Mining That's a really good counterexample. As for oil, how much of it is really Canadian-owned and developed, though?
ryanobjc 9y ago
There are plenty of ambitious Canadians working on moonshots. They live in the Bay Area, LA, NYC and more.
- EduardoBautista 9y ago
  The American dream is still alive it appears.
JPKab 9y ago
The beardy dude that started Vice (can't remember his name) has talked about disliking this aspect of Canadian culture. He stated that they have a "cut the tall trees" mentality, and doesn't believe he could have been successful had he stayed in Canada.
- defined 9y ago
  I wonder if this is a Commonwealth thing? The "tall poppy" syndrome is well-known in NZ and AUS, too.
  - indemnity 9y ago
    As a recent immigrant to NZ this annoys the hell out of me. Excellence should be rewarded and strived for, but people prefer comfortable mediocrity, because then they don’t feel like they’re underachieving.
    - yazaddaruvala 9y ago
      I'll try to self-analyze and hopefully shed some light: I moved from India (Mumbai) when I was 10, to grow up in Vancouver. I've previously worked in NY, and I now work in Seattle (you can guess where), but think about moving back to Vancouver all the time to live a life of "mediocrity" and "underachieving". In both India and America, the mindset is "If you're not first you're last", but my mindset after growing up in Vancouver: "I don't need to be first, I just need to hold my own and stay with the pack". For some reason (unclear how/when/why I learned this) growing up in Canada: 1. I learned to feel guilty for my successes (lol make it go away!). 2. I learnt very quickly, that getting one rank higher at something competitive keeps getting exponentially harder (i.e. I'd be less happy). To sum it up: Its not just about victory, but the balance of effort to victory, and the happiness from being a part of a community that counts. However, its hard to reconcile. The Indian/American mentalities in me, especially about career, are very much a part of me. I think I compromised on "I don't need to be first, but should be at least 1 or 2 std deviations above median". As a result, I don't work in NY or SF, I live in Seattle, for the money but have a great work life balance, thinking every now and then if its it the right time to move back to Vancouver.

Tokkemon 9y ago

I'm sure one could make the argument that if it wasn't the US, it was Great Britain's influence as well. Canada was always second-rate compared to England and they never let us forget it. It's ingrained into the psyche of all Canadians in some way. Also a century of political monotony didn't help.

deaddodo 9y ago
Hey now. The US asked [the Canadian provinces] to join them. They were completely happy trading furs and being second place, well before the US' existence.

frandroid 9y ago

> We settle for "good enough" The main problem is investment. You just don't have the investment capital in Canada that you can get in the U.S. I'm not just talking tech, but throughout the economy. Lots of successful Canadian SMEs get bought out by Americans because there's no one here who has the balls to invest in them. In many cases, their (head) offices are moved to the U.S., further reducing the economic impact they had here and making the U.S. economy stronger. Canada is a perpetual SME incubator feeding the U.S. economy.

linkregister 9y ago
There are numerous counterexamples throughout the Canadian economy: banking, oil & gas, mining, agriculture, etc. Software investment is probably the only sector that is undercapitalized in Canada.
- jamiek88 9y ago
  Well you've basically stated those industries that are specifically and geographically tied to Canada. Of course commodities and the financial system to support them as well as local consumer banking have that funding. All nations do. It is the 'soft' economy outside of that where the differences lie.
  - linkregister 9y ago
    There are at least 50 nations that receive most of their financing from foreign sources.
- frandroid 9y ago
  > Banking You know something funny I've learned recently? The top three owners of the 4 largest Canadian banks are... Each other. > Mining That's a really good counterexample. As for oil, how much of it is really Canadian-owned and developed, though?

ryanobjc 9y ago

There are plenty of ambitious Canadians working on moonshots. They live in the Bay Area, LA, NYC and more.

EduardoBautista 9y ago
The American dream is still alive it appears.

JPKab 9y ago

The beardy dude that started Vice (can't remember his name) has talked about disliking this aspect of Canadian culture. He stated that they have a "cut the tall trees" mentality, and doesn't believe he could have been successful had he stayed in Canada.

defined 9y ago
I wonder if this is a Commonwealth thing? The "tall poppy" syndrome is well-known in NZ and AUS, too.
- indemnity 9y ago
  As a recent immigrant to NZ this annoys the hell out of me. Excellence should be rewarded and strived for, but people prefer comfortable mediocrity, because then they don’t feel like they’re underachieving.
  - yazaddaruvala 9y ago
    I'll try to self-analyze and hopefully shed some light: I moved from India (Mumbai) when I was 10, to grow up in Vancouver. I've previously worked in NY, and I now work in Seattle (you can guess where), but think about moving back to Vancouver all the time to live a life of "mediocrity" and "underachieving". In both India and America, the mindset is "If you're not first you're last", but my mindset after growing up in Vancouver: "I don't need to be first, I just need to hold my own and stay with the pack". For some reason (unclear how/when/why I learned this) growing up in Canada: 1. I learned to feel guilty for my successes (lol make it go away!). 2. I learnt very quickly, that getting one rank higher at something competitive keeps getting exponentially harder (i.e. I'd be less happy). To sum it up: Its not just about victory, but the balance of effort to victory, and the happiness from being a part of a community that counts. However, its hard to reconcile. The Indian/American mentalities in me, especially about career, are very much a part of me. I think I compromised on "I don't need to be first, but should be at least 1 or 2 std deviations above median". As a result, I don't work in NY or SF, I live in Seattle, for the money but have a great work life balance, thinking every now and then if its it the right time to move back to Vancouver.