> without easy access to venture capital and the huge talent pool that area has, should consider, rather than trying to copy what makes Silicon Valley work like

> without easy access to venture capital and the huge talent pool that area has, should consider, rather than trying to copy what makes Silicon Valley work like it does. This is spot on advice. In Canada, it's a big deal when companies get $25K investments from an angel or a special program. I still remember a pamphlet from Startup Weekend in which a local fund in Toronto had pictures of startup founders smiling behind oversized checks for $10K-20K. The disadvantage over the Valley is huge if you try to play the same game. For example, starting Twitter in Canada is an exercise in futility. You simply don't have the external funds to let it grow. It's far better to be the 37signals of Canada, and grow the business through paying customers. This way you can grow organically and sustainably and perhaps even get noticed by VCs at some point.