4 ms·

Do you recommend people to migrate to Canada for startup? Any benefit there?

chaosmachine 17y ago
Do you like cold, snowy winters and high taxes? ;) Alternatively, you don't have to worry much about health insurance.
lee 17y ago
There are many government grants and loans for small businesses and startup. At my startup, all our rnd salaries are essentially covered by a grant. For companies that have revenues under 500k, the tax rate is only 22%.
r7000 17y ago
Hulu is blocked. So you get much more done.
- dhughes 17y ago
  Hulu isn't blocked by Canada (we don't block it) they, Hulu, restrict it from their end in the USA. If you're interested in Net Neutrality this is what ruins it, divide and conquer by making people stop caring about the WWW and only about their part of the world, it's like China in reverse.
stan_rogers 17y ago
Immigration to Canada for the express purpose of creating a start-up can be a bit difficult for a young 'un, at least. You need to have a net worth of at least $CAN 300K and previous experience managing a business in order to qualify for Entrepreneur Class immigration status. (Self-employment Class status is only available to people in a clearly-defined, limited number of fields -- mostly cultural and athletic.) If you can meet the requirements, though, there are some areas that are particularly kind to high-tech start-ups. The Kitchener-Waterloo area has become the Canadian take on Silicon Valley thanks in large part to the University of Waterloo (still one of the best math and CS schools in the world, with co-op students more than willing to do internships) and the influence of companies like Research In Motion. Ottawa is still trying to attract tech, even if Corel's glory days are past. Vancouver is a sort of northern outpost of the Seattle area (rainy, no real winter, but it's God-awful expensive to live there). Calgary is another hot spot, but you need to be of a certain temperament to "get" the place. And there's always the Toronto area -- great for amenities, culture and so forth and the de facto capitol of all things business, and there is no lack of code monkeys if you feel you need them. There be hackers of both hardware and software in the Greater Toronto Area, but not so much within the city itself.
- wmoxam 17y ago
  There be hackers of both hardware and software in the Greater Toronto Area, but not so much within the city itself Huh? Spadina Ave. in Toronto is lined with startups and tech companies, as is King West (aka 'Liberty Village'). There are tons of tech events in the city (Democamp, etc. See http://yousayyeah.com/calendar http://yousayyeah.com/calendar), as well a hacker space (http://hacklab.to http://hacklab.to) I'm not aware of much hacker activity in the 'burbs other than Markham perhaps.

Do you like cold, snowy winters and high taxes? ;) Alternatively, you don't have to worry much about health insurance.

lee 17y ago

There are many government grants and loans for small businesses and startup. At my startup, all our rnd salaries are essentially covered by a grant. For companies that have revenues under 500k, the tax rate is only 22%.

r7000 17y ago

Hulu is blocked. So you get much more done.

dhughes 17y ago
Hulu isn't blocked by Canada (we don't block it) they, Hulu, restrict it from their end in the USA. If you're interested in Net Neutrality this is what ruins it, divide and conquer by making people stop caring about the WWW and only about their part of the world, it's like China in reverse.

stan_rogers 17y ago

Immigration to Canada for the express purpose of creating a start-up can be a bit difficult for a young 'un, at least. You need to have a net worth of at least $CAN 300K and previous experience managing a business in order to qualify for Entrepreneur Class immigration status. (Self-employment Class status is only available to people in a clearly-defined, limited number of fields -- mostly cultural and athletic.) If you can meet the requirements, though, there are some areas that are particularly kind to high-tech start-ups. The Kitchener-Waterloo area has become the Canadian take on Silicon Valley thanks in large part to the University of Waterloo (still one of the best math and CS schools in the world, with co-op students more than willing to do internships) and the influence of companies like Research In Motion. Ottawa is still trying to attract tech, even if Corel's glory days are past. Vancouver is a sort of northern outpost of the Seattle area (rainy, no real winter, but it's God-awful expensive to live there). Calgary is another hot spot, but you need to be of a certain temperament to "get" the place. And there's always the Toronto area -- great for amenities, culture and so forth and the de facto capitol of all things business, and there is no lack of code monkeys if you feel you need them. There be hackers of both hardware and software in the Greater Toronto Area, but not so much within the city itself.

wmoxam 17y ago
There be hackers of both hardware and software in the Greater Toronto Area, but not so much within the city itself Huh? Spadina Ave. in Toronto is lined with startups and tech companies, as is King West (aka 'Liberty Village'). There are tons of tech events in the city (Democamp, etc. See http://yousayyeah.com/calendar http://yousayyeah.com/calendar), as well a hacker space (http://hacklab.to http://hacklab.to) I'm not aware of much hacker activity in the 'burbs other than Markham perhaps.