5 ms·

I'm moving to Vancouver, BC soon to found a startup, so it's good to hear this. But from comments here, i'm hearing a lot of comments pertaining to Toronto and

I'm moving to Vancouver, BC soon to found a startup, so it's good to hear this. But from comments here, i'm hearing a lot of comments pertaining to Toronto and Waterloo region, but not much about Vancouver or BC in general. Why is that? Is Vancouver/BC not a good place for startups? Am I heading in the wrong direction? I'm still in a position to switch back to Toronto if necessary, so if someone can enlighten me that would be greatly appreciated.

gyardley 12y ago
I didn't have a startup in Vancouver, but a prominent angel investor in Vancouver put some money into my NYC-based startup, and I flew out there for a couple of 'portfolio summits', with companies largely-based in Vancouver. I liked the group I saw and people I met, but a) that was years ago, and b) I don't know if they were representative. Hey, if you want to talk to someone in Vancouver about the local start-up scene, why not shoot me an email? (It's in my profile.) I can ask my old investor if he's willing to hop on the phone and answer a few questions.
- gotrecruit 12y ago
  hey, i will definitely shoot you an email. i would be curious to find out more about the vancouver startup scene!
giarc 12y ago
The Waterloo region is popular because of U Waterloo (a tech heavy school) and RIM. However, it won't be hard to convince people to move to Vancouver, it's warmer there.
Tiktaalik 12y ago
Vancouver seems like a fine place for a startup to me. Better weather than the rest of Canada, same timezone as SF, very short flight to SF. One of Canada's startup success stories, Hootsuite, is in Vancouver. There are lots of video game studios and branch offices of American tech companies (Amazon, MSFT) so there is tech talent around. (I live in Vancouver)
peeters 12y ago
Vancouver has a strong tech industry, but its cost of living is very inflated. Waterloo in particular has managed to have a thriving tech sector while maintaining a comparatively low cost of living. I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of the day I banked the same amount as I do now if I moved to the valley. Toronto has similar cost of living issues to Vancouver (mostly super inflated housing costs).

gyardley 12y ago

I didn't have a startup in Vancouver, but a prominent angel investor in Vancouver put some money into my NYC-based startup, and I flew out there for a couple of 'portfolio summits', with companies largely-based in Vancouver. I liked the group I saw and people I met, but a) that was years ago, and b) I don't know if they were representative. Hey, if you want to talk to someone in Vancouver about the local start-up scene, why not shoot me an email? (It's in my profile.) I can ask my old investor if he's willing to hop on the phone and answer a few questions.

gotrecruit 12y ago
hey, i will definitely shoot you an email. i would be curious to find out more about the vancouver startup scene!

giarc 12y ago

The Waterloo region is popular because of U Waterloo (a tech heavy school) and RIM. However, it won't be hard to convince people to move to Vancouver, it's warmer there.

Tiktaalik 12y ago

Vancouver seems like a fine place for a startup to me. Better weather than the rest of Canada, same timezone as SF, very short flight to SF. One of Canada's startup success stories, Hootsuite, is in Vancouver. There are lots of video game studios and branch offices of American tech companies (Amazon, MSFT) so there is tech talent around. (I live in Vancouver)

peeters 12y ago

Vancouver has a strong tech industry, but its cost of living is very inflated. Waterloo in particular has managed to have a thriving tech sector while maintaining a comparatively low cost of living. I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of the day I banked the same amount as I do now if I moved to the valley. Toronto has similar cost of living issues to Vancouver (mostly super inflated housing costs).