TJ Schmidt

Student-at-law, UCP VP Candidate, husband, father, Albertan, Catholic, fighter, and fool. Politics, history, law, philosophy, economics.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

If we do not solve this we are cooked.

[Build Canada @buildcanada]

It’s true.

Canada is facing an IPO drought.

[Richard Hanania @RichardHanania]

When I listen to tech people talk about economics and politics, I'm increasingly reminded of public health experts on Covid.

The experts on Covid knew a lot about biology. They could tell us how the disease could spread, explain the concept of R₀, and tell us that vaccines would be good for us. They were "right" about a lot when they stuck to what they knew.

But when epidemiologists started talking about politics and what to do about covid, they were completely out of their depth. They didn't have the tools to do cost-benefit analysis regarding policies like mask mandates, school closures, and lockdowns. They had half-baked theories about human psychology and could justify lying because they didn't understand that this might cause a political backlash.

Tech people know a lot about AI. But then I hear them talk about all jobs going extinct and hyper charged growth. They have crackpot ideas about political economy, and predict that the welfare state will disappear as the value of labor declines. And yet you don't find AI leading to supercharged growth, and the unemployment rate hasn't changed. Their predictions that the welfare state might wither away and a few rich people might capture all the gains show no signs of being true. They're just speculation, and the kinds of ideas that people who study economics and political science generally find a lot less plausible.

Another parallel is that the tech industry is experiencing a political backlash, just as the public health establishment did. I don't want to stretch this analogy too far, but I think that the common theme is that both communities were way too overconfident about their understanding of politics and social dynamics.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@PrairiePersp They could just like, reduce taxes and regulations.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

This is the most important issue in Canada right now. The rate of investment fleeing our country because of a burdensome matrix of requirements is shocking.

Businesses don't start or stay here because the $ doesn't make sense or they can't find it at all. No start-ups means no mature businesses. That means no jobs, no increasing wages and no tax revenue.

[Elliot Daigneault @hrh_elliot]

Once again the Canadian government FAILS to understand the problem

I would know, I founded and ran a tech company for a decade and raised MILLIONS from investors

And it was HORRIBLE doing business here

Let me explain

This isn't a "money issue"

This is a regulatory, economic and taxation issue combined with a deep cultural problem

Back in 2015 I founded a tech company, using my own money from working in the Alberta oil field

We developed our MVP in Montreal and launched our proof of concept right here in the West Island

Our first ever investors were our own first clients. We raised $150,000 from them

But things got harder when it came time to raise our seed round

I met with EVERY SINGLE VC in Montreal.

All told us NO

Why?

Too risky

lol... its the very definition of Venture Capital

They wanted a pitch deck, projections on 5 years, cashflow, business plan, go-to-market strategy, communication strategy, marketing strategy, Tech reviews, C.V. of founding team, financial disclosure etc

We spent more time preparing documents for them than we did scaling our business

Worse of all, they all wanted something different and would give contradicting requirements

I remember this interaction at the Espace CDPQ, the headquarter for all Venture firms in Montreal

ie:

Investor: How much do you need
Me: $1 Million
Investor: So if you only raise $750k what happens?
Me: Well we'll adapt XYZ
Investor: So then never EVER tell me a fix number. Give me a range. $750K-$1.5M or else you look foolish

I went home, reworked the pitch deck

The very next day:

New investor: How much you need
Me: $750K-$1.5M
New investor: What... you don't even know your number???
Me: well... yes but what if we raise less or more
New Investor: No, you look foolish

We said screw it. Approached American Investor

Our first was a VC firm out of Houston, Texas

Took less than 1 month from initial pitch, to closing.

In USD. For more money than what Canadians wanted to offer.

Best of all, they understood the fluid nature of a startup. No onerous and rigid plan. No overburdened documentation. Every second wasted on non-operating activities was sucking productive time away from scaling.

But Elliot... what about BDC and other AMAZING institutions in Canada

We did business with the BDC. a $250,000 loan. Which I had to personally guarantee.

Which 25 year old has assets and the balls to guarantee that amount? Very few. It's prohibitive. And reduces capital available to our homegrown companies

And this was AFTER MONTHS of explaining to them what we were doing. It was clear the BDC was setup to support traditional brick-and-mortar companies only.

Think Manufacturers or Commerces. But a tech startup? They could NOT wrap their heads around it.

Canadian banks? Forget it. Outright. Too risky

Then I watch fellow startups do the same. And move to the US.

Why wouldn't they?

In Quebec, I had to pay an extra 15% on top of my payroll as taxes. QPIP, QPP, FSS, CNESST... all to satisfy the government non-stop appetite.

Consequences: Well for a startup where every dollar counts, this means lower salaries thus harder to attract top talent (vs American competitors)

or

I simply hired less staff... thus slowly growth for both my company and the country's economy.

But wait it gets worse.

Revenue Quebec and CRA both required a plethora of compliance documents filled monthly or quarterly. GST and QST tax fillings, CNESST Salary equity (yes lol) documents, Source deduction documents, RL-1 fillings, Income tax (both QC and CAN), Workplace sexual harassment policy, OQLF policy, CNESST training and certification... the list goes on

At least 1 day a month was spent by me and some of my executives preparing and fulfilling these documents. This means we were't scaling our business and instead working for FREE for the government.

Then there is the tax burden.

Why would top talent want to come here and get taxed at up to 52% marginal rate?

While a Miami startup offers higher salary and the State taxes you 0%

Finally investor behaviour

In Canada... safe. steady return. Great for a Series C. Great for an established companies. No desire for risk. No understanding of the ecosystem.

HORRIBLE FOR VENTURE

Meanwhile the U.S. , they understand the ecosystem. 90% of their investment will go down to 0. But the few that survive will go on to earn them BILLIONS and change the world.

So this new announcement of $1.75Billion won't change the underlying issue that makes us uncompetitive.

At best, it will go to startups who will flee to the US the very second the money hits

At worse, it will just be another slush fund given to friends of the government

and I fear its the latter as usual

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@bo_austin_ "Nuclear". Nuclear what?!

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

As a UCP board candidate for the upcoming AGM, here are my remarks about Premier Smith's comments earlier today on seperatists within the party.

It's my belief that the Premier was commenting on members turning the UCP into a separatist party -- not members holding personally separatist views.

That said party members should underst that the Premier cannot unilateral determine what views UCP members must hold.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@Prominent_Bryan @CdnElectWatch I've talked to multiple normies about this. People didn't understand the question. They thought it was asking whether Alberta should just opt out of federal social supports. They didn't process that it would be a choice and opting out would include recieving cash in lieu.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

This is the way.

[Keean Bexte @TheRealKeean]

To the Leave campaign: accept these results and keep Alberta out of the NDP’s hands.

Notley and her caucus were worse for Albertans than Trudeau. Nenshi would plunge us into another decade of darkness.

Put the guns down. Stop fighting each other. Keep Alberta conservative.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@erik_thorvalds I'm running for UCP VP of Policy. If the UCP fractures on the independence question only Naheed Nenshi wins. Alberta won't be more free with an NDP government.

We need a UCP where seperatists and federalists can work together towards more autonomy.

https://t.co/U6bJI2e71W

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@AnthropicAI You don't have to do this. You pay taxes.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@OmarManuRod Everyone applying subway rules to a football field is hilarious. These guys are pumped full of adrenaline and doing a very physical job where they swat at eachother's hands like that all night.

It should not be considered "assault" as if it happened in line at Chipotle.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

This logic holds where a job pays exactly 1.3X the median wage, but if firms have a choice between hiring an experienced foreign-trained accountant for $70k or an experienced Canadian accountant for $200k -- they're probably choosing the $70k accountant.

This applies to every very high-earning job.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

Yes, because there's such a tremendous shortage of lawyers in Canada.

[IRCC @CitImmCanada]

We’re updating the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System to better select the skilled newcomers who are best equipped to succeed in Canada: https://t.co/mZ1W612N6x

The changes will award more points to candidates with eligible Canadian work experience or a qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation, including in health care and engineering.

This will help us attract and retain skilled workers who are well positioned to complement our domestic workforce and help build a stronger Canada.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@WallStreetMav They were government jobs.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@Empty_America The important point is that people will not CHOOSE 3-day workweeks. People could easily work a few days a week at 1950'sish living standards, but they don't.

People routinely choose full-time work and higher living standards rather than less work and static living standards.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@CRELeasingLawTX @CestuiQueTakes Right! I overlooked that. So as long as the individual is still able to communicate they would presumably be able to rescind. But then why would someone with ALS need an advance directive at all?

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@godspeed_aflame It's actually because tall men have longer muscle fibers and a stretched muscle distribution.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@SeanTrende The difference is literally just dyed hair.

[TJ Schmidt @_GenerationWhy_]

@peterboghossian We have antibiotics.