This article misses the fact that the "startup ecosystem" is different on the east coast vs. the west coast. And it's especially brutal when you compare the fun

This article misses the fact that the "startup ecosystem" is different on the east coast vs. the west coast. And it's especially brutal when you compare the funding sources available to Canadian startups vs. US startups. See 2016 Analysis of 20,000 startups by Vancouver-based Yaletown Partners (here: www.yaletown.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Canadas_Technology_Investment_Gap_Yaletown2016.pdf): “In 2015, U.S. companies raised three times as much on average compared to Canadian companies.” Just like the author, I tried to raise money from Montreal and Toronto VCs ~10 years ago after having received substantial angel funding (~1.5M CAD). Contrary to what's asserted in the article, previous access to such funding didn't help us much. Albeit this was around the financial crisis, but still, there was no additional openness to listen to us. In fact it felt like a handicap. They wanted to see real sales, conversion ratios, etc. ... pencil-pushing sort of data in general. But I digress. The more substantial issue that I found is that most VCs in Montreal/Toronto are extremely conservative. After we closed the startup I mentioned earlier I started travelling more actively. That was round 2010 where everyone was going to become a gazillionaire with a new "app". I was at a conference on the west coast and I stumbled on a startup that had raised 10M$ for an app. When I asked about their business model the answer was: "We're focusing on acquiring users for now. We'll figure out monetization later." THAT would never fly for raising capital in Montreal/Toronto. In fact I was recently talking to one of the VCs I had pitched to way back 10 years ago and I told him this story. His answer? "Oh boy, that's one I would've killed right away." So the biggest mistake from my point of view east coast startups can make, especially if they're based in Montreal/Toronto is to believe what they read about "startup funding" on the Internet. What flies in the Valley doesn't necessarily fly anywhere else. There's a willingness/ability to suspend disbelief that is unique to the Valley, both in terms of funding and in terms of recruiting top talent. In short, if you're trying to build a startup on the east coast (and Montreal/Toronto specifically) then focus on making money from real, paying customers, not angels nor VCs. Or just pack your bags and head west.