[icki]

Hey thanks for your reply! How do you like being a T.O. startup founder?

I'm not 100% committed to buying a house, but I don't have any runway to start out with my personal projects full time. What I meant to say was that I would never want to be in a situation where I can't meet my financial obligations (rent as a part of a longer-term lease, or mortgage payments). I am doing my best to get out from under my student debt and build my runway/rainy day fund as quickly as possible.

Do you think that low salaries might also be a function of brain drain? There are a lot of tech workers in Canada on visas, and it might be because a lot of Canadians leave the country to work in SFBA, NYC, Seattle, etc.

Could you point me to any resources for information about starting companies in Ontario, and receiving grants? You seem like you've got quite a bit of know-how :)

[andkon]

No problem! So far it's decent, but for the stuff I like (consumer-facing businesses) it's definitely nothing like the Bay. There's a lot less money for early-stage startups, there's a lot more government money (which is good and bad), and there's a more risk-aversion on behalf of founders and investors alike. Here's an instructive read: https://medium.com/toronto-tech/toronto-d0ea5da434e

I was fortunate enough to not have student debt when I graduated, so that's one thing that made my leap easier. Agreed, though - I don't wanna go broke either :)

I think braindrain probably plays a role... But ultimately, the issue is that there aren't even enough (successful) startups in the province to employ all those grads if they stayed.

Actually helpful resources are scarce but we could grab coffee or skype if you wanna talk about your options! My email link is in my profile. It's always best to find someone who has done exactly what you intend to do, so just keep talking with folks.

-Andrew