3 ms·

As a Canadian citizen who has worked hard to get a US visa to be able to work in SF/Silicon Valley, but has the 'easier' option of being based north of the bord

by dotBen 16y ago

As a Canadian citizen who has worked hard to get a US visa to be able to work in SF/Silicon Valley, but has the 'easier' option of being based north of the border, I'm not really clear why a startup would want to be based out of Canada. I'm not against the idea of a startup visa for Canada but the site startupvisa.ca might want to sell some of the benefits of being based in Canada because I'm not seeing them.

neilk 16y ago
Canada has advantages for someone coming from the developing world. Better internet infrastructure than many countries, educated workforce, socialized health care, a culture very welcoming to immigrants, easy access to the US market, and proximity to Canadian and US investors (particularly Bay Area and Seattle). It's also easier to get foreign workers, generally, into Canada, so you have your pick of the local workforce, as well as the rest of the world (even Americans!). I've worked for a startup in Vancouver that took advantage of all the above. Vancouver is one of the best places to live in the world, period, and it's especially great for raising kids or if you're into outdoor sports. So it has its charms even if you already work in a startup hub like San Francisco. You could probably do something similar for Montreal or Toronto, although it would be a harder sell. And the startup would have to be pretty hot or pursuing a unique niche. If opportunities were equal, there would be very little reason for a startup to choose Canada over the USA. However, since the USA seems determined to shut the door here, Canada can take advantage of that.
- dotBen 16y ago
  You mention proximity to US investors in Bay Area - my experience is that investors in Bay Area tend to only want to fund Delaware C Corp companies with founders based locally. Anything outside of that is unlikely to get funded in many cases (Aside from the proximity issue, I'm guessing for local Canadian employment laws and to get this visa you would have to be running a Canadian registered company). All of your comments about Vancouver are true, but none of them has anything to do with whether it makes a great place to do a startup.
- fleitz 16y ago
  The biggest reasons to do a startup in Canada are SRED claims, , depressed wages (in Vancouver), and enforceable non-competes. People say Vancouver is the best place to live, but I'd rather live elsewhere, Portland or SF come to mind.
  - halostatue 16y ago
    Enforceable non-competes may vary by province; I haven't had a reason to check it out, but they may be against labour law in Ontario.
    - dotBen 16y ago
      Enforceable probably only in Canada. I doubt there is little to no legal redress for anyone competing across the border, esp in California which bans non-competes. I personally wouldn't put an employee under a non-compete - a) because they tend to be unenforceable and b) I wouldn't work under such a contract myself.
      - halostatue 16y ago
        After I got into work, I did a quick search and found that it's not under labour law as such, but Ontario courts (and presumably Canadian courts in general) frown on non-competes. This article from 1999 suggest that non-solicitation agreements are acceptable, but there's nine conditions that make a non-compete acceptable because it's an 'exceptional' situation. http://www.zvulony.com/non_compete.html http://www.zvulony.com/non_compete.html This is upheld in other articles that I've read that are more recent: http://www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/law-advice/employment-law-article.php?row_id=14 http://www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/law-advice/employmen... http://blogs.hrhero.com/northernexposure/2008/10/14/noncompetes-in-ontario/ http://blogs.hrhero.com/northernexposure/2008/10/14/noncompe... http://www.brazeauseller.com/articles/29/12/2008/245.aspx http://www.brazeauseller.com/articles/29/12/2008/245.aspx
      - halostatue 16y ago
        After I got into work, I did a quick search and found that it's not under labour law as such, but Ontario courts (and presumably Canadian courts in general) frown on non-competes. This article from 1999 suggest that non-solicitation agreements are acceptable, but there's nine conditions that make a non-compete acceptable because it's an 'exceptional' situation. http://www.zvulony.com/non_compete.html http://www.zvulony.com/non_compete.html This is upheld in other articles that I've read that are more recent: http://www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/law-advice/employment-law-article.php?row_id=14 http://www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/law-advice/employmen... http://blogs.hrhero.com/northernexposure/2008/10/14/noncompetes-in-ontario/ http://blogs.hrhero.com/northernexposure/2008/10/14/noncompe... http://www.brazeauseller.com/articles/29/12/2008/245.aspx http://www.brazeauseller.com/articles/29/12/2008/245.aspx

by dotBen 16y ago

neilk 16y ago

Canada has advantages for someone coming from the developing world. Better internet infrastructure than many countries, educated workforce, socialized health care, a culture very welcoming to immigrants, easy access to the US market, and proximity to Canadian and US investors (particularly Bay Area and Seattle). It's also easier to get foreign workers, generally, into Canada, so you have your pick of the local workforce, as well as the rest of the world (even Americans!). I've worked for a startup in Vancouver that took advantage of all the above. Vancouver is one of the best places to live in the world, period, and it's especially great for raising kids or if you're into outdoor sports. So it has its charms even if you already work in a startup hub like San Francisco. You could probably do something similar for Montreal or Toronto, although it would be a harder sell. And the startup would have to be pretty hot or pursuing a unique niche. If opportunities were equal, there would be very little reason for a startup to choose Canada over the USA. However, since the USA seems determined to shut the door here, Canada can take advantage of that.

dotBen 16y ago
You mention proximity to US investors in Bay Area - my experience is that investors in Bay Area tend to only want to fund Delaware C Corp companies with founders based locally. Anything outside of that is unlikely to get funded in many cases (Aside from the proximity issue, I'm guessing for local Canadian employment laws and to get this visa you would have to be running a Canadian registered company). All of your comments about Vancouver are true, but none of them has anything to do with whether it makes a great place to do a startup.
fleitz 16y ago
The biggest reasons to do a startup in Canada are SRED claims, , depressed wages (in Vancouver), and enforceable non-competes. People say Vancouver is the best place to live, but I'd rather live elsewhere, Portland or SF come to mind.
- halostatue 16y ago
  Enforceable non-competes may vary by province; I haven't had a reason to check it out, but they may be against labour law in Ontario.
  - dotBen 16y ago
    Enforceable probably only in Canada. I doubt there is little to no legal redress for anyone competing across the border, esp in California which bans non-competes. I personally wouldn't put an employee under a non-compete - a) because they tend to be unenforceable and b) I wouldn't work under such a contract myself.
    - halostatue 16y ago
      After I got into work, I did a quick search and found that it's not under labour law as such, but Ontario courts (and presumably Canadian courts in general) frown on non-competes. This article from 1999 suggest that non-solicitation agreements are acceptable, but there's nine conditions that make a non-compete acceptable because it's an 'exceptional' situation. http://www.zvulony.com/non_compete.html http://www.zvulony.com/non_compete.html This is upheld in other articles that I've read that are more recent: http://www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/law-advice/employment-law-article.php?row_id=14 http://www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/law-advice/employmen... http://blogs.hrhero.com/northernexposure/2008/10/14/noncompetes-in-ontario/ http://blogs.hrhero.com/northernexposure/2008/10/14/noncompe... http://www.brazeauseller.com/articles/29/12/2008/245.aspx http://www.brazeauseller.com/articles/29/12/2008/245.aspx
    - halostatue 16y ago
      After I got into work, I did a quick search and found that it's not under labour law as such, but Ontario courts (and presumably Canadian courts in general) frown on non-competes. This article from 1999 suggest that non-solicitation agreements are acceptable, but there's nine conditions that make a non-compete acceptable because it's an 'exceptional' situation. http://www.zvulony.com/non_compete.html http://www.zvulony.com/non_compete.html This is upheld in other articles that I've read that are more recent: http://www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/law-advice/employment-law-article.php?row_id=14 http://www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/law-advice/employmen... http://blogs.hrhero.com/northernexposure/2008/10/14/noncompetes-in-ontario/ http://blogs.hrhero.com/northernexposure/2008/10/14/noncompe... http://www.brazeauseller.com/articles/29/12/2008/245.aspx http://www.brazeauseller.com/articles/29/12/2008/245.aspx