Who are the Baby Bills of Vancouver?
There’s a interesting article in the New York Times today about the tech start-up scene south of the border titled Seattle Taps Its Inner Silicon Valley. Seattle’s recent boom is being attributed to the ecosystem that has evolved through offshoots of local giants Microsoft and Amazon. Much the same way Google’s success has fueled Silicon Valley.
Another advantage is the tech-savvy talent at the Seattle-based Amazon and nearby Microsoft. Microsoft offshoots, sometimes called Baby Bills, after Bill Gates of Microsoft, are being joined by Amazon progeny called Baby Jeffs, for Amazon’s Jeffrey P. Bezos. Baby Sergeys — those formed by veterans of Google, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., and was co-founded by Sergey Brin — are opening here.
The influx of entrepreneurs and of venture capitalists to bankroll them is slowly reshaping this city and a regional economy long buffeted by the booms and busts of the aerospace and timber industries. A start-up ecosystem needs social networks, support businesses and a business culture that views failure as a badge of honor, not shame. All of that is in place in Seattle.
As a result, Seattle is home to a growing community of technology innovators who are willing to take risks and money is pouring in. During the last 12 years, venture capital investment in Seattle has more than tripled, to about $1 billion annually and last year Washington tied with Texas as the third-largest destination for VC money nationwide, behind California and Massachusetts.
Question: Will this same ‘offshoot’ phenomenom fuel tech start-ups in Vancouver? If so, what companies should we look to to spawn these ‘babies’?