Economic outlook: The mood of a nation (part 2)
Joe Castaldo
From the April 28, 2008 issue of Canadian Business magazine

Michael Sikorsky is leaving Calgary this year. The founder of “crowdsourcing” company Cambrian House will be moving to California, likely San Francisco, to become a part of what he sees as a more vibrant startup culture. “Even though I love Calgary, I can’t stay here anymore,” the 34-year-old says. “You always feel like you’re out there on the ledge all by yourself. You don’t have anyone to talk to about what’s going on, so it just makes sense you’re going to be a bit more fearful about what can happen.”

Calgary is an oil and gas town, so on the surface it’s no surprise Sikorsky, a tech entrepreneur, would feel isolated in this environment. But in fact, the city is home to more tech startups per capita than any other place in Canada, according to Calgary Economic Development. In addition to Cambrian House, a number of local companies have also made headlines over the past few years, including iStockphoto, Voodoo PC and Immersive Media.

Claudia Moore is working to raise the profile of the city’s tech sector as president of Material Insight, a consulting firm for local startups. “The next three to five years will be definitive for Calgary,” Moore says. “It takes you a little while to figure out what you want to be when you grow up, and Calgary is on the cusp of that.” In some ways, the city has an advantage in terms of developing into a tech hub: an entrepreneurial-minded, maverick culture, and a pool of investors rich with oil and gas money. But will they be willing to part with their cash, especially at a time like this?

Moore concedes that no matter how independent the tech sector may think it is, the entire psychology of Calgary is affected by the oil and gas industry. And in an annual survey conducted by the city’s Chamber of Commerce, concern about the health of the economy cracked the list of the Top 5 issues affecting businesses, unlike last year. Educating the city’s investors will be tough, but not impossible. “There’s no question there’s uncertainty in the marketplace,” Moore says. “With oil and gas, you’re traditionally tied into a global market, whereas with a technology company, you have a little bit more control over your destiny.”

Moore says angel investors with oil and gas backgrounds are coming on the scene. She points to Bone Creek Capital, a firm more accustomed to resource plays, which invested in mobile firm Redwood Technologies.

But the city’s wealth has also increased the cost of living, and that could impede development of the tech sector. “Part of Calgary’s success was you could go to school here, get a job here and buy a house here,” Moore says. “That can all stay true, but we need to start competing for people differently. It’s not as easy as it was before.”

So what would have kept someone like Michael Sikorsky in Calgary? A “phenomenal” startup culture. “We’ve got all this capital here,” he says. “We should be taking a shotgun approach to innovation.”





Speaking as a Canadian I am discouraged, there is tunes of talent and money in this country. Waterloo, Vancouver, Toronto, Mississauga, Ottawa just to name a few.
I hate that the valley is the be all end all for so many tech company's... ARG!

Brenden
CrowdsourceThis.com

Posted: April 18, 2008, 8:54 pm

Is the team going 2?

Brenden
CrowdsourceThis.com

Posted: April 18, 2008, 8:54 pm

I hope not, they still haven't hired me and I'm moving back to Calgary soon.

Having been out here in Vancouver for 3 years I have to say that what goes down in Calgary is a lot nicer than what goes down here. I've had a horrid time finding BarCamps, DemoCamps, and general entrepreur types to hang out with here. Maybe it's just that I have a better network in Calgary.

To be honest, Canada is a crappy place to do a start up. Money is hard to get here, investors are hyper conservative and don't like to take risks. VC money is DECREASING. It is a really weird thing, and it doesn't seem to have to do with the heart and the minds here. It's an investment money thing.

You take a look at the Calgary scene and it's hopping, iStock, Cambrian House, Veer, etc. Lots of neat start ups, lots of neat people. Guy Kawasaki seems to roll through town on a semi regular basis, it is a neat place.

I haven't tried hunting for capital in Calgary. I would like to think that Calgary could become Silicon Valley North. I'm aiming to be a big part of that scene when I get back to Calgary, because I absolutely love being in a startup.

Posted: April 19, 2008, 12:48 am

Well nobody beats the optimism of Americans. After 5 years they still think they can win the war in Irak and not to mention find Bin Laden .
Let's be honest: California is the place to be, to find money.
BTW
From to money you save from not having to heat the place 9 months per year, you van hire another programmer.

Posted: April 19, 2008, 7:52 am

WE have no plans to move yet. It is just an idea that made it into an article.

Posted: April 19, 2008, 1:47 pm

Is anybody doing a Startup Camp in Calgary?

Posted: April 19, 2008, 7:33 pm

Maybe check out this Idea in the IdeaWarz...

Posted: April 19, 2008, 8:00 pm

The marketers golden rule "Don't believe everything you _______"

(insert see, hear, read etc).

Posted: April 19, 2008, 11:11 pm

california is sort of a nice place.

Posted: April 20, 2008, 2:54 am

I think CH already has an office in LA.

Mountain View
Cambrian House Inc. (Mountain View)
800 W. El Camino Real
Suite 180
Mountain View, CA 94040
UNITED STATES
Phone: 650.943.2366

Posted: April 20, 2008, 5:26 pm

On April 20, 2008, 6:26 pm daraddishman said:

I think CH already has an office in LA.

Mountain View
Cambrian House Inc. (Mountain View)

Just FYI, Mountain View is in the Bay Area, tucked in along the west side of the bay between San Francisco and San Jose. It's long way from LA geographically and even further culturally (speaking as a former NorCal guys who considers SoCal a foreign country). It's basically at the heart of the Valley since the lines all blur between Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, etc.

Posted: April 21, 2008, 7:06 am

First, I agree with Tommy's critique: "Well nobody beats the optimism of Americans. After 5 years they still think they can win the war in Irak and not to mention find Bin Laden." As a Yank myself, I hang my head in agreement.

Second and most important: Calgary? Hell! It's a nothing hamlet. Edmonton is where it's at!

With tongue in cheek, Wesley

Posted: April 22, 2008, 2:52 am

On April 22, 2008, 3:52 am landsky said:

Second and most important: Calgary? Hell! It's a nothing hamlet. Edmonton is where it's at!

BLASPHEMY!!!!

I thought Mountain View was just north of Van Nuyes... I must be on all sorts of geography crack. Cupertino...Apple...Steve Jobs... Guy Kawasaki...

Posted: April 22, 2008, 3:35 pm

daraddishman, given the amount of contributions in a short time, you're given some slack here You know more about California than I do about Canada...

The Silicon Valley as a technology concept has actually expanded to the rest of the Bay Area. Besides San Jose and adjacent towns (like Sunnyvale and Cupertino), there are many startups in "the city" (ie San Francisco), Berkeley, Oakland, Redwood/Foster City, Pleasanton, and so forth...

It's earthquake territory all over, the dry weather doesn't help if you have seasonal allergies, BUT we love it out here.

Posted: April 22, 2008, 5:43 pm

I love San Francisco, Moscone Center is like the BEST conference center on the west coast.

Anyhow... Crowdfunding anyone? I think when I move an idea into a business I'm going to try and crowd source some money to do my bootstrapping. What does this have to do with CH moving?

Errr... Nothing, I just think there may be a way to disrupt the VC/Angel investing gatekeeper game, and leverage crowds as a fund raising tool.

Weren't there just some quakes in California? Who would want to move to a place with earthquakes?

Posted: April 22, 2008, 6:06 pm