HN Explorer

Toronto or Vancouver: Which is better for startups?

8 points by gotrecruit ↗ HN
I'm currently planning to study CS in Canada, and have received offers from both UBC and UofT. My main objective going to school, however, is to go find the right people to found a startup with, or to recruit the right people to join me.

Which has a better startup ecosystem? Which school would be better for recruitment for this purpose? Which school has a better pedigree?

11 comments

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fananta
I would say Toronto. There's a growing startup ecosystem here and the entrepreneurship culture at UofT is taking off.

I'm building my second startup here (and also helping UofT with entrepreneurship initiatives). If you have more questions, send me an email: f.ananta@gmail.com

gotrecruit
hey, i would be keen to connect with you when i'm about ready to go to toronto. i'm leaning towards toronto at the moment, but i'm also reading many articles and forum posts about how vancouver is actually heating up in terms of its startup ecosystem as well and it's swaying me a little.

if my goal to attend school (either UBC or UofT) is to recruit my team to found a startup, which school would you think is better?

Mankhool
I'm in Vancouver and I would have to say . . . Toronto. The West is the Best, but for startups the East is the, er, Beast?
kpatrick
In BC, UBC and SFU are considered recruiting universities with UBC being slightly ahead of SFU, but behind Waterloo in Ontario. Vancouver is quite hot now for startups and tech in general. SAP alone has 1,000 employees in Vancouver, plus Microsoft which is doubling. IBM is decreasing its size though. Vancouver is often considered better for lifestyle except for the cost of housing. If you like the outdoors, Vancouver is the obvious choice.
gotrecruit
one reasons i'm seriously considering UBC is because the degree i'm offered can be completed in only 20 months, and i've also heard the weather in vancouver can be very nice.

but there is an overwhelmingly larger number of articles and people saying toronto is the better place for startups and i can't help but feel that i might find better talent in UofT vs UBC.

is cost of housing in vancouver really sky high? and i do like the outdoors - i enjoying skiing and intend to do that perhaps once a month or so.

gyardley
Toronto might be a little better than Vancouver, but the difference isn't that extreme - we're not talking Silicon Valley vs. Des Moines here.

You're concerned about the weather - Vancouver's the clear winner here. You can finish your degree in twenty months - again, Vancouver's the clear winner. Finally, that twenty-month UBC program's got extra resources to get people who aren't programmers and are switching careers up to speed - it's designed for your situation, while Toronto's ordinary CS program is just going to throw you in with everyone else.

throwaway3444
if you're planning to stay in Canada afterwards the difference is not that big, UBC should give you a benefit of getting a bachelor's degree in just 2 years.

But if you're planning to go somewhere else (U.S. etc.), go UofT by all means, nobody outside of Canada knows where the heck is UBC. Vancouver is a beautiful place, definitely wins in terms of landscape, but the tech job pool is also super small, you will find out that pretty much everyone has worked at the same couple of places.

gabchan
TORONTO: for its proximity to Waterloo, the centre of Canada's startup universe. Many UW students are from the GTA anyway.
isuraed
Toronto. Waterloo is an enormous talent pool and there is much start-up activity happening. Even better for networking if you can take courses or do some projects with Waterloo students.

Disclaimer: Waterloo grad.

coffeecodecouch
Full disclosure: I live in Vancouver. Searching for "startup" on meetup.com returns 78 groups for Vancouver and only 31 groups for Toronto. While Toronto is said to be better for startups the difference is small enough that it comes down to a personal choice of schools and lifestyle.