Oh ya. I remember the name "Hotbank" now. And of course I knew that you were a Managing Director and co-founder of Softbank Venture Capital. My apologies for getting the title wrong.

The last thing I want to do is undermine the work David has done to create Techstars. Our deep respect is well documented on this blog. But, as people go through life, they learn all sorts of lessons. Some conscious, some subconscious. When I see pattern, like the fact that three of the leading "seed accelerators" had experience with Hotbank in their past, I can't accept that as pure happenstance. When David came to you with the Techstars Idea, how did you know it was going to work? Why did you decide to work with him on it? How long did it take you to decide? And, I wonder how long it took Reshma to decide to work with Saul on Seedcamp.

I'm just saying that it doesn't surprise me that the people who are finally getting this model right have had experience, however removed, with the previous generation.

I agree. Hopefully this will start to erode the VC syndication dependancy problem a bit. Most are paralyzed by the thought of going in alone, or inside. If you made it to VC stardom, then by definition, you should have uncanny skills capable of picking winners. if you think the company will return more than you invested, in a reasonable amount of time, then invest. simple. If you can find others to come in the deal with you who can help, great!

I use photobooth on the mac or my iPhone to record videos of myself. But on the desktop, I find the videos come out much more natural after i drag another window overtop of the video so I can't see myself. For regular video conferencing, I use skype. it just works.

copied from my comment on Felipe Coimbra's (@twtfelipe) Blog post in response to his tweet: http://twitter.com/twtfelipe/status/6675752014

http://www.felipecoimbra.com/2009/10/21/immigrate...

You're the perfect example of someone we could only *hope* would want to move to Canada. I understand why you didn't offer up that you intended to start a company to the immigration officer. Starting a company is risky, and they want to make sure you wouldn't be a strain on the social system, ie health care, welfare, unemployment, etc. But really, if you come here, start a company, and employ other locals, I would think that is the best anyone could ever hope for.

What if the local investors or VCs could sponsor these entrepreneurs under a Startup Visa? I understand the a) most web companies don't need any investment so why make that a requirement, or b) the fear that the VC would be able to hold the threat of exporting the founders if they didn't perform to their standards. I get that, but think we can find a way around both of those concerns. The reality is the VCs (at least Bootup Labs) don't want to hold that over their head at all. But we do need founders to be able to move to Canada with 2 months notice to be part of our acceleration program, which is designed and funded specifically to start a company which will employ other local residents. How do we make the founders, investors, and immigration people all happy? We're close, there has to be a way.

a) the founder brings enough money with them (BTW, this program already exists, but I believe the founder has to bring at least $1M with them) or;
b) The founder accepts a term sheet from a VC, but with enough funding to give the entrepreneur enough time to apply for a more permanent status in the country on their own. (say, at least one year's worth) If they decide not to apply for a longer term Visa, and they run out of money and the company dies, then they made the choice to leave.

You're the perfect example of someone we could only *hope* would want to move to Canada. I understand why you didn't offer up that you intended to start a company, to the immigration officer. Starting a company is risky, and they want to make sure you wouldn't be a strain on the social system, ie health care, welfare, unemployment, etc. But really, if you come here, start a company, and employ other locals, I would think that is the best anyone could ever hope for.

What if the local investors or VCs could sponsor these entrepreneurs under a Startup Visa? I understand the a) most web companies don't need any investment so why make that a requirement, or b) the fear that the VC would be able to hold the threat of exporting the founders if they didn't perform to their standards. I get that, but think we can find a way around both of those concerns. the reality is the VCs (at least Bootup Labs) don't want to hold that over their head at all. But we do need founders to be able to move to Canada within 2 months notice to be part of our acceleration program, which is designed and funded specifically to start a company which will employ other local residents. How do we make the founders, investors, and immigration people all happy? I'm sure there's a way

Sounds likey my story.

Hi Brendon. I always love our debates.

The 'problem' is clearly stated in the blog post. Bootup Labs wants to invest in, and move foreign teams to Canada to start companies, and the problem is that I can't (very easily). We pick the best teams that apply, period. This time around, we found that some (not all) of those teams happen to be from outside the country.

We'll probably use the NAFTA program for our US teams, but we also have a team from Europe, we'd like to bring in. And, as part of the NAFTA program, they have to fully intend to move back, which is a little backwards, to say the least. That term is in the NAFTA program to avoid giving up local jobs to immigrants. But founders starting their companies in Canada, are actually CREATING jobs for locals that otherwise wouldn't be here. Why would we ever want them to leave???

Lastly, your argument for a more targeted approach to getting expats to move back, seems to compromise our simple requirement of picking the best teams we can find, without prejudice what-so-ever. Social housing and salary levels, are is not the problem i'm trying to solve.

Wow! Great post Steven. Something we should make sure everyone reads. Look forward to meeting you in person tomorrow!

why is maura sitting at my desk?

Moving back to Windows?

Tod replies: Never!! :-)