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The conditional on Canadian funding thing is killer. There is so little VC in Canada.
by bishnu 13y ago
The conditional on Canadian funding thing is killer. There is so little VC in Canada.
- untog 13y agoWell, I suppose this is a two way street. Hopefully something like this would kick-start Canadian VC funding, as they'll have a lot of very qualified international applicants knocking down their doors.
- mjn 13y agoMy guess is that's part of the purpose, to use the visas as a carrot to improve deal flow to Canadian angels/VCs. Could also be that they think companies funded by Canadian investors will be less likely to jump ship to the U.S. later, versus if they were funded by a Valley-based firm. (As for why the investors have to be from an approved list? Probably to avoid sham "angel investors" fake-funding their acquaintances, or outright selling visas.)
- potatolicious 13y ago> "(As for why the investors have to be from an approved list? Probably to avoid sham "angel investors" fake-funding their acquaintances, or outright selling visas." This is a valid concern, though I'm worried it will swing the pendulum in the other direction also - that it basically gives non-regulated, non-governmental, non-accountable entities the ability to wield immigration as a stick. That or allow an existing cabal of VCs to lock out competing, upstart VCs.
- jt2190 13y agoYou would think it would be that simple, but you really need to look at it from the investor's point of view: What is my ROI if invest my money this way instead of that way? More unattractive investments won't help the tech startup community grow. My suspicion[1] is that the thing that will really fix this is changing the way that investors are taxed on their capital gains and losses. [1] Been a while since I lived in Canada, but IIRC capital gains and losses are not taxed like they are in the US.
- eigenvector 13y agoThat's not correct. Interest is taxed progressively like any other income, dividends are somewhat taxed according to a complex formula, and 50% of your capital gains are taxed at the applicable marginal tax rate depending on your income.
- dean 13y ago"50% of your capital gains are taxed" True, but that is an exemption that gets used up. There is a $750,000 lifetime capital gains exemption. Which most people don't hit, but a successful founder could.
- d0gsbody 13y agoI bet there will be more now.
- jrn 13y agoIf you are looking for funding in canada, Fundica.com lists grants, loans, equity sources of financing, based on industry and location etc.