Hacker News Reader

Comment by dmix | Hacker News Reader

The chart still shows that startups raised $227k on average in the discovery phase.

The problem is in Canada there's noone willing to invest at this stage, at all. The angels here are known to only invest in later stage startups.

Although I agree the focus early on be on customers... its still hard to be 100% focused on customers if you're also constantly concerned with how you'll pay rent.

View on HN

It seems to me that the discovery phase is something that you can do as a side project while retaining a part-time job or contracting/freelancing gig. While it is often difficult to keep several balls in the air like that, it is a pretty good test of your own character/ability to be involved in a start-up anyway. The goal in the discovery phase should be "I'm too small to fail."

Traditionally this is from savings, family and friends, borrowing against your home, etc. And it feels like there is more opportunity to this capital in other places, i.e., anecdotal evidence that lots of folks in other places will put up $5-20k to invest in a friends startup. This doesn't happen as much in Canada (tight accredited investor definitions, higher taxes, higher real estate prices and home borrowing).

Indeed, the valley has the benefit of having lots of successful tech entrepreneurs reinvesting back into the community whereas most other cities depend on more old school angels or gov financing who only focus on safer bets.

This is not to knock on angels in canada, but an important to note when comparing SV with anywhere else... its not just about having VCs with big funds.

Attracting customers is rarely free as well.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com