As executive recruiters focused on finding top talent for startups and scale-up, we recruit from all over North America, but one of our favourite tech hubs is Vancouver. Why do we love to recruit from Vancouver so much? Well, it boils down to the market and the people.
The Market
Long before Montreal and Halifax became the emerging Canadian cities for tech, there was Vancouver. In fact, much to the chagrin of those living in the centre of the universe (yes, we are looking at you Toronto), there has always been Vancouver.
During our 20 years in business, we have always known Vancouver to be a hotspot for exceptional talent across all functions, including Product Management. So it came as no surprise when the pandemic created the conditions for a large migration of people to the area, drawn to this world-class city synonymous with healthy living and active lifestyles.
In 2020, the Vancouver Economic Commission cites the city as a global top 25 startup ecosystem and the number one hub for VFX/Animation. In Q1 2021, 17 venture deals were made representing $203M. Employment has recovered to pre-Covid levels, which is incredible given the fact Vancouver has the lowest rate of unemployment among Canada’s four largest cities. To summarize, Vancouver is hot!
The People
From a Recruiter’s perspective, while it’s exciting to work within a hot market it’s the people who make the city. Let’s face it, Vancouver is part of Canada, so if you are a US-based company interested in scaling a product team, having some friendly and extremely talented Canadians can’t hurt.
If you’re a Bay area company, the time zone makes sense. If you’re based in Seattle, even better – when the borders open, it’s easy to get in-person facetime. There is also a massive cross-section of talent as major corporations, large e-commerce brands and hundreds of tech startups call Vancouver home.