Can Vancouver be the Next Austin?
Last week, I hosted the June edition of Webcouv3r, Vancouver’s monthly Web3 event. Following an engaging panel on the future of DAOs, no fewer than five people asked me some variation of the following question:
“How are we narrowing the gap between Vancouver and San Francisco?”
Since moving back to Vancouver, I’ve heard countless takes on this question and its naval-gazing cousins, “How can we get Toronto media to pay more attention to Vancouver?”, “How can we reverse Vancouver’s brain drain?” and “Why aren’t there more unicorns in Vancouver?”
Look at my belly button!
The next day, I flew down to Austin, Texas. Austin is famous the world over for music, BBQ and football.
It also happens to have a pretty good tech scene.
Downtown Austin
You know it doesn’t have? People constantly comparing Austin to other cities.
You don’t hear Austinites whining that New York doesn’t pay enough attention to them, that the government doesn’t give them enough money or that they don’t have as many unicorns as other cities. They know what makes Austin special and they’re unapologetically proud of it. When they talk about their city, they focus on what makes it unique, not what it lacks.
Brunch and blues
Imagine if Vancouverites could do the same thing.
Imagine if we stopped worrying about what people in Toronto think (or don’t think, because let’s be honest -- most people in Toronto spend precisely zero time thinking about Vancouver).
Imagine if we stopped complaining about a lack of government support.
Imagine if we stopped comparing.
Complaining about the government is the second most popular sport in Vancouver.
After complaining about gas prices.
That’s not to say that the there aren’t opportunities for improvement — there always are.
But Vancouver is the most beautiful city on the planet. You can ski the best slopes in the world, mountain bike in a near-mythical rainforest and swim in the Pacific Ocean. On the same day.
Are you kidding me?!?
Vancouver is also a small city. As such, it will never be the primary driver of the country’s economy, tech or otherwise. The first thought when you mention “Vancouver” to anyone around the world will never be “tech.”
And that’s okay.
You know what other city you can say that about? Austin.
The difference? People who live in Austin aren’t worried about it. They know know that when people think of their city, they think first and foremost about music, BBQ, festivals and all of the other weird and wonderful things that make Austin special. And if those people happen to be in tech, they’ll know it’s also a bad-ass tech city.
Kayakers on the Colorado River in downtown Austin
Vancouver has a fantastic tech scene and I genuinely believe that it has the potential to be a global leader in Web3. Some of the most consequential companies of this generation are already being built here. But even if that happens, when people around the world think about Vancouver, they’ll think first and foremost about its natural resources and lifestyle — skiing, hiking, mountain biking and all of the other wonderful things that make Vancouver special.
And that’s okay.
You can’t do this after school in San Francisco
People in tech don’t move to Austin because of its tech scene. They move there because it’s an amazing city and it has a great tech scene.
Similarly, nobody is ever going to move to Vancouver only because of its tech scene (and this is coming from someone who moved back to Vancouver after 18 years in San Francisco). People move here because it’s one of the best cities in the world to live and it has a great tech scene.
Let’s embrace that energy.
Let’s proudly make Vancouver the next Austin Vancouver.
By the Numbers
| Austin | Vancouver | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 2.29 million | 2.46 million |
| Employees in Tech | 79,230 (7.5% of jobs) | 91,200 (8.0% of jobs) |
| Big Name Tech Conference | SXSW | TED |
| OG Tech Company | Texas Instruments | PMC-Sierra |
| New Hotness | ICON | Dapper Labs |
Hometown Band Locals Would Rather You Forget |
N/A (It's Austin) |
Nickelback |
…oh, and it case you’d like to know my answers to the questions at the top of this article:
“How are we narrowing the gap between Vancouver and San Francisco?”
We aren’t. And we never will. (And that’s okay.)
“How can we get Toronto media to pay more attention to Vancouver?”
Do something amazing that they can’t ignore.
Or, you know, stop worrying about it. 🤷♂️
“How can we reverse Vancouver’s brain drain?”
We shouldn’t try to.
It’s a great thing that ambitious young women and men are going abroad to learn and experience the world and do amazing things. Some number of them will come back (like I did) and they’ll bring with them all of that knowledge and experience that they never would have gained if they stayed here.
“Why aren’t there more unicorns in Vancouver?”
Because Vancouver is a small city.
At the end of the day, most startups fail and only a tiny fraction of them will become unicorns. Vancouver will have more unicorns, but they will always be few and far between. That’s not a critique or criticism of our local entrepreneurs or tech scene. It’s just the numbers.
And that’s okay.