Not all businesses are created equal. The OP couldn't find a way to build a profitable business (edit: profitable enough for them) with developers commanding a

Not all businesses are created equal. The OP couldn't find a way to build a profitable business (edit: profitable enough for them) with developers commanding a Canadian salary, but was able to with developers commanding a lower one. In comparison, I work for a small company that's been profitable from pretty much day one and they pay the prevailing rate for developers in San Francisco, which is roughly double the Canadian salary the OP is bemoaning. I'm sure there are some businesses that would fail even at the rate the OP is paying. Think of all the opportunities that would open up if we could pay developers $1/hour.