5 ms·

Agreed. A lot of people seem to be mentioning Toronto (never been) but can anyone comment on the tech/startup scene in Vancouver (loved it but it seems very sma

Agreed. A lot of people seem to be mentioning Toronto (never been) but can anyone comment on the tech/startup scene in Vancouver (loved it but it seems very small)?

senorprogrammer 14y ago
There's a lot of development talent and ambition in Vancouver, and a healthy chunk of it not at all related to the video game or movie industry; there are quite a number of legitimate start-ups going on, most of them seemingly located down in Gastown. The biggest barrier to start-ups in Vancouver is probably investment availability. There's a few active angels and VCs but you can count them on one hand. The majority who want in seem to be incredibly risk-adverse, treating a 50k angel investment as though it were the last gold bullion on earth. On top of that, Vancouver is very lifestyle-driven, especially once spring and summer roll around. The mountains and ocean are seductive (that's why I moved out here), and make it seem like insanity to spend 16 hrs a day toiling in front of the computer when there's an entire playground out there. So, if I were going to start a high-energy start-up, Vancouver is not where I'd pick first.
hjay 14y ago
There is definitely a lot of talent in Vancouver, though many of the people I know have their eyes set on SV/the U.S. Investors here are very hesitant to open up their wallet (much like areas like Australia). Some big companies have development located here, but I would not say the startup scene is very big at all. There are accelerators like GrowLab (since 2011), but nothing like the valley. I definitely agree with the overall premise of the article though, people here see a lot of the "money-throwing" over in the valley and feel it's often way overblown/hyped.
bwertz 14y ago
There are a few really successful companies here in Vancouver (Hootsuite, Clio, Unbounce, A Thinking Ape, Indochino), a healthy early-stage ecosystem (LaunchAcademy, GrowLab) and a great pool of developers and designers (that's why you have Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple all having development offices in town)
dquail 14y ago
Vancouver has exceptional talent, a shared time zone with the valley, and ski hills minutes away. Grow labs and launch academy are also seeding and launching legit companies. All this adds up to a pretty strong scene. I'm not aware of investors stoned Boris and Bdc ... But again, SV investors aren't shy to invest globally. In fact, many including Dave McClure, and our former investors (tandem entrepreneurs) focus on these markets.
- spitfire 14y ago
  It's funny that theres a west coast startup lab called "grow labs". Wonder what sort of business ventures they focus on.
graeham 14y ago
The Vancouver scene is small but close-knit and growing. The core of it is based in Gastown, within about a 3 block radius of GrowLabs, one of the bigger incubators there. There is great talent without Silicon Valley salaries and a few active angels, but I think its harder to raise bigger rounds, at least locally. This will improve when Hootsuite or another local company has a big exit or IPO, and the government is trying to inject money into venture capital. The good news is SFO is only a two hour flight, and Seattle about that far by car. I think raise in the USA, build in Canada is a great strategy, and quite a few of the successful start-ups raise from both Canada and the US. There is starting to be a bigger start-up culture. Its not like SF and area where it seems like everyone is doing a start-up, but it is now something that a lot of young people are thinking about and is seen as a respectable way to spend your time. There are good government programs in Canada, but my limited experience is they aren't what you want to bank on if you are a small, vulnerable start-up. I think where they do come into benefit is in growing from a 5->50+ person outfit. Vancouver also has a good brand for the right kind of company. Its definitely a lifestyle city (great place to live, but lots of distractions from 24/7 work) - and would be a great place for health/fitness/outdoor activity start-ups because of that. There is a kinda cool video about the Vancouver tech scene from a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLQQ3w12Juc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLQQ3w12Juc

Agreed. A lot of people seem to be mentioning Toronto (never been) but can anyone comment on the tech/startup scene in Vancouver (loved it but it seems very small)?

senorprogrammer 14y ago

There's a lot of development talent and ambition in Vancouver, and a healthy chunk of it not at all related to the video game or movie industry; there are quite a number of legitimate start-ups going on, most of them seemingly located down in Gastown. The biggest barrier to start-ups in Vancouver is probably investment availability. There's a few active angels and VCs but you can count them on one hand. The majority who want in seem to be incredibly risk-adverse, treating a 50k angel investment as though it were the last gold bullion on earth. On top of that, Vancouver is very lifestyle-driven, especially once spring and summer roll around. The mountains and ocean are seductive (that's why I moved out here), and make it seem like insanity to spend 16 hrs a day toiling in front of the computer when there's an entire playground out there. So, if I were going to start a high-energy start-up, Vancouver is not where I'd pick first.

hjay 14y ago

There is definitely a lot of talent in Vancouver, though many of the people I know have their eyes set on SV/the U.S. Investors here are very hesitant to open up their wallet (much like areas like Australia). Some big companies have development located here, but I would not say the startup scene is very big at all. There are accelerators like GrowLab (since 2011), but nothing like the valley. I definitely agree with the overall premise of the article though, people here see a lot of the "money-throwing" over in the valley and feel it's often way overblown/hyped.

bwertz 14y ago

There are a few really successful companies here in Vancouver (Hootsuite, Clio, Unbounce, A Thinking Ape, Indochino), a healthy early-stage ecosystem (LaunchAcademy, GrowLab) and a great pool of developers and designers (that's why you have Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple all having development offices in town)

dquail 14y ago

Vancouver has exceptional talent, a shared time zone with the valley, and ski hills minutes away. Grow labs and launch academy are also seeding and launching legit companies. All this adds up to a pretty strong scene. I'm not aware of investors stoned Boris and Bdc ... But again, SV investors aren't shy to invest globally. In fact, many including Dave McClure, and our former investors (tandem entrepreneurs) focus on these markets.

spitfire 14y ago
It's funny that theres a west coast startup lab called "grow labs". Wonder what sort of business ventures they focus on.

graeham 14y ago

The Vancouver scene is small but close-knit and growing. The core of it is based in Gastown, within about a 3 block radius of GrowLabs, one of the bigger incubators there. There is great talent without Silicon Valley salaries and a few active angels, but I think its harder to raise bigger rounds, at least locally. This will improve when Hootsuite or another local company has a big exit or IPO, and the government is trying to inject money into venture capital. The good news is SFO is only a two hour flight, and Seattle about that far by car. I think raise in the USA, build in Canada is a great strategy, and quite a few of the successful start-ups raise from both Canada and the US. There is starting to be a bigger start-up culture. Its not like SF and area where it seems like everyone is doing a start-up, but it is now something that a lot of young people are thinking about and is seen as a respectable way to spend your time. There are good government programs in Canada, but my limited experience is they aren't what you want to bank on if you are a small, vulnerable start-up. I think where they do come into benefit is in growing from a 5->50+ person outfit. Vancouver also has a good brand for the right kind of company. Its definitely a lifestyle city (great place to live, but lots of distractions from 24/7 work) - and would be a great place for health/fitness/outdoor activity start-ups because of that. There is a kinda cool video about the Vancouver tech scene from a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLQQ3w12Juc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLQQ3w12Juc