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If anyone is seriously considering applying and needs assistance meeting the Canadian angel / VC requirement, feel free to reach out to me, I am based in Canada

by kitcar 13y ago

If anyone is seriously considering applying and needs assistance meeting the Canadian angel / VC requirement, feel free to reach out to me, I am based in Canada and active in the angel/VC community. Contact info is in my profile.

xtrumanx 13y ago
Quick question; what would kind of person would you imagine would successfully secure funding from an angel/VC as a person trying to immigrate to Canada. I guess one would have to have more than an idea and a MVP. Also, any differences between Canada's angels and VCs than the impression one would get from Hacker News stories which is probably more U.S. focused?
- kitcar 13y ago
  It's tough to generalize across all VCs and Angels in the country, but a few high level items to consider: - Canada is somewhat unique in that there are federal and provincial subsidies for specific sectors related to technology (I.e. Video Game development tax credits, scientific research and develop credits - see http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site//cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/wr00850.html http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site//cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/... for some of the big ones at the federal level). Most of these incentives don't require your business to make a profit. Some Angels and VCs have a preference to invest in businesses which are eligible to receive these incentives, and in rare cases will even ask you to relocate in order to a specific location in Canada to maximize incentives. - There aren't THAT many VCs in Canada, and of the few that there are, some of the more active ones are are operated by pension plans (http://www.omersventures.com/ http://www.omersventures.com/) and arms-length government organizations ( https://www.bdc.ca/EN/solutions/venture_capital/ https://www.bdc.ca/EN/solutions/venture_capital/ , http://www.marsdd.com/aboutmars/partners/iaf/ http://www.marsdd.com/aboutmars/partners/iaf/, etc... ) . As can be expected, this affects the types of companies most likely to get funding in Canada. - IMHO, the cliche that Canadians are conservative with their money is mostly true - historically the majority of the big money in Canada was made in resources, banking, real estate & manufacturing, which are all (for the most part) much less risky than early stage technology investing. Yes, there have been a few big tech winners - but they are almost rounding errors compared to the amount of cash made in these other industries. My personal hypothesis is the "conservative" cliche is somewhat self-enforcing, as the Canadians who like early stage technology end up moving to NYC or SF, have success there, and then rarely return. This has resulted in the creation of informal Canadian clubs in those locations, as well as formal organizations like http://www.thec100.org/ http://www.thec100.org/ . Some general links for more info: - http://www.cvca.ca/ http://www.cvca.ca/ - http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/eng/h_02772.html http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/eng/h_02772.html
- bwertz 13y ago
  I might be biased as I run a venture fund myself (Version One Ventures) but I think there are a handful excellent investors up here in Canada, most of which invest across North-America. Here is a good overview: http://www.techvibes.com/blog/state-of-venture-capital-in-canada-2013-02-20 http://www.techvibes.com/blog/state-of-venture-capital-in-ca...
Achshar 13y ago
I actually want to set up a startup. But undecided on location, my current location will not do. I really want to go to valley, ideally get into YC itself, but the barrier to entry is high. How would you say is the startup culture over there in canada? How does it stack up against places like valley, london or NYC? Other and more accessible option for me is Banglore, no visa required (I am from India).
- scott_karana 13y ago
  Ask yourself this: if you've never heard of startup culture in Canada, what is that indicative of? :) (Saying this sadly, as I'm a Canadian)
  - randomdata 13y ago
    The nearly 500 tech startups in Waterloo was pretty big news a year or two ago, even on HN. Startup success seems to be the problem in Canada. I'm not sure I could name a single one of those companies, even after considerable time has passed since that media exposure. It will be interesting to see if bringing in new cultural perspectives can change that.
    - aren55555 13y ago
      How about: Vidyard (http://www.vidyard.com/ http://www.vidyard.com/), Pebble (http://getpebble.com/ http://getpebble.com/), BufferBox (https://www.bufferbox.com/ https://www.bufferbox.com/), Couple (formerly Pair) (http://couple.me/ http://couple.me/), or Thalmic Labs (https://www.thalmic.com/myo/ https://www.thalmic.com/myo/) All the above are also YC alumni.
      - randomdata 13y ago
        Pebble is the only one I've heard of on the list and their website claims they are in Silicon Valley, so I guess that reenforces my point? Additionally, I think it is quite reasonable to argue that Kickstarter is the source of their success, but Kickstarter is still not yet available to Canadians. Not until later this summer.

by kitcar 13y ago

xtrumanx 13y ago

Quick question; what would kind of person would you imagine would successfully secure funding from an angel/VC as a person trying to immigrate to Canada. I guess one would have to have more than an idea and a MVP. Also, any differences between Canada's angels and VCs than the impression one would get from Hacker News stories which is probably more U.S. focused?

kitcar 13y ago
It's tough to generalize across all VCs and Angels in the country, but a few high level items to consider: - Canada is somewhat unique in that there are federal and provincial subsidies for specific sectors related to technology (I.e. Video Game development tax credits, scientific research and develop credits - see http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site//cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/wr00850.html http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site//cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/... for some of the big ones at the federal level). Most of these incentives don't require your business to make a profit. Some Angels and VCs have a preference to invest in businesses which are eligible to receive these incentives, and in rare cases will even ask you to relocate in order to a specific location in Canada to maximize incentives. - There aren't THAT many VCs in Canada, and of the few that there are, some of the more active ones are are operated by pension plans (http://www.omersventures.com/ http://www.omersventures.com/) and arms-length government organizations ( https://www.bdc.ca/EN/solutions/venture_capital/ https://www.bdc.ca/EN/solutions/venture_capital/ , http://www.marsdd.com/aboutmars/partners/iaf/ http://www.marsdd.com/aboutmars/partners/iaf/, etc... ) . As can be expected, this affects the types of companies most likely to get funding in Canada. - IMHO, the cliche that Canadians are conservative with their money is mostly true - historically the majority of the big money in Canada was made in resources, banking, real estate & manufacturing, which are all (for the most part) much less risky than early stage technology investing. Yes, there have been a few big tech winners - but they are almost rounding errors compared to the amount of cash made in these other industries. My personal hypothesis is the "conservative" cliche is somewhat self-enforcing, as the Canadians who like early stage technology end up moving to NYC or SF, have success there, and then rarely return. This has resulted in the creation of informal Canadian clubs in those locations, as well as formal organizations like http://www.thec100.org/ http://www.thec100.org/ . Some general links for more info: - http://www.cvca.ca/ http://www.cvca.ca/ - http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/eng/h_02772.html http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/eng/h_02772.html
bwertz 13y ago
I might be biased as I run a venture fund myself (Version One Ventures) but I think there are a handful excellent investors up here in Canada, most of which invest across North-America. Here is a good overview: http://www.techvibes.com/blog/state-of-venture-capital-in-canada-2013-02-20 http://www.techvibes.com/blog/state-of-venture-capital-in-ca...

Achshar 13y ago

I actually want to set up a startup. But undecided on location, my current location will not do. I really want to go to valley, ideally get into YC itself, but the barrier to entry is high. How would you say is the startup culture over there in canada? How does it stack up against places like valley, london or NYC? Other and more accessible option for me is Banglore, no visa required (I am from India).

scott_karana 13y ago
Ask yourself this: if you've never heard of startup culture in Canada, what is that indicative of? :) (Saying this sadly, as I'm a Canadian)
- randomdata 13y ago
  The nearly 500 tech startups in Waterloo was pretty big news a year or two ago, even on HN. Startup success seems to be the problem in Canada. I'm not sure I could name a single one of those companies, even after considerable time has passed since that media exposure. It will be interesting to see if bringing in new cultural perspectives can change that.
  - aren55555 13y ago
    How about: Vidyard (http://www.vidyard.com/ http://www.vidyard.com/), Pebble (http://getpebble.com/ http://getpebble.com/), BufferBox (https://www.bufferbox.com/ https://www.bufferbox.com/), Couple (formerly Pair) (http://couple.me/ http://couple.me/), or Thalmic Labs (https://www.thalmic.com/myo/ https://www.thalmic.com/myo/) All the above are also YC alumni.
    - randomdata 13y ago
      Pebble is the only one I've heard of on the list and their website claims they are in Silicon Valley, so I guess that reenforces my point? Additionally, I think it is quite reasonable to argue that Kickstarter is the source of their success, but Kickstarter is still not yet available to Canadians. Not until later this summer.