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Comment by FloorEgg

3 days ago

I've raised from angels in Vancouver. There is definitely a VSE hangover culture there. During the grind I had some strange experiences.

One involved an argument with the prospective investor over the share price. In their view it had to be between 20 and 50 cents. They didn't care about the valuation, or typical investment terms, only the share price.

Another invited us to an IPO party for another company they invested in (TSX if I remember correctly). At this party we learned that the company that IPO'd had less than 100k revenue (and huge losses). They were out of business within 3 years.

I guess it is hard for old dogs to learn new tricks... They made their millions off pump and dumps in VSE days and just didn't stop playing those games even long after the exchange shut down.

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FloorEgg

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apike  2 days ago

My experience raising in Vancouver is that there are two angel communities.

There is an easier to find Vancouver-centric investor group that behaves as a you describe. Many of these investors didn’t come up as tech founders. I was advised not to waste time with them, so I don't know if there are some gems in the rough there or not.

Then there is a quieter group that got their capital from building serious tech businesses. This group spends more time connecting outside Vancouver – Bay Area mostly, but also Toronto and globally. These folks do write early-stage cheques and can be very helpful advisors, but they're not full-time angels who are spending time on deal flow. They're mostly focused on building their next thing, so it’s more difficult to earn their attention.

So yes there are questionable actors, but there are also very legit folks doing great work, and it’s possible to go to an event or dinner party that only really has one or the other. Hope that’s helpful to any other founders building in Vancouver!

  • FloorEgg  2 days ago

    Yes, well said. This is what I noticed as well, though it me a few years to work it out.

Joel_Mckay  3 days ago

In general, the Vancouver culture is very different from most places, and not recommended for small firms serious about growth (even with revenue over $4m you should talk with AMCHAM to figure out an exit-to-grow strategy.) No other "Angel Investors" typically ask people to table personal assets for deals. It is actually an absurdly risk-averse place, with predatory VC terms often far worse than simple bank loans.

Vancouver has all the same problems as New York, but none of the advantages. Better options exist unless your business is rocks, logs, or crime. =3

  • monero-xmr  2 days ago

    Friend of a friend etc. was part of 1%er MCs. The money was marijuana and steroids from BC to US. They just drove trucks through backroads over the border. I guess the bikes were for fun