[dshan]

I'm very obviously biased, as a founder of one of Bootup's startups, but I hear what everyone is saying here...Van has it's challenges when it comes to fueling rapid startup growth and success. I do think there are great people here striving to really change the world and a decent community around that scene trying to empower that activity.

I think a lot of the complaints I see here are fixable, and I think it would do a lot more good to focus on the value these types of events can bring to the culture in Van, rather than pointing out what's wrong all the time. It seems like a subset of the community is really downtrodden and negative, and they seem to be the most vocal, especially online.

I think money people like Boris Wertz and Jason Bailey are putting forth enormous efforts to jump start the scene right now. GROW was successful, and increasing we founders are talking with the influencers in the Valley and around the US. Hootsuite is one of a few potential success stories and I think that will be followed with a handful more from the younger companies.

Again yeah, I'm biased, but we're working as hard as anyone up here in Vancouver, and I see tons of potential.