Ask HN: Startup from icy centre of Canada hoping to meet SV Hackers and YC Alum

[wolfrom]

Hello HN,

We, the guys from Windsoc (the Unified Social API) are planning to rent a car and drive down the peninsula on the Friday after LAUNCH. Are there any HNers or YC alum who may have 5-10 minutes to meet and talk with us?

Part of our curiosity is based on what it's like to be a startup in a place where people actually talk about startups, and part of it is to get some different perspectives on our product. Where we live (Winnipeg, Canada), the nearest major city is over four hundred miles away, so sometimes we feel a little isolated.

Please let us know if you have a few minutes to talk to us. Thank you very much.

(And yes, it is very icy up here right now... the cold has emptied the streets, and I slipped on the ice outside my house twice last night.)

[raganwald]

Speaking as a Torontonian who visits "The 'Peg" from time to time, I vouch for the assertion that Winnipeg is the Icy Centre of Canada. It also has a great orchestra and a vibrant arts community overall. Good luck!!

[acangiano → raganwald]

My Winnipeg comes to mind: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093842/

[kerryfalk]

We're also a Winnipeg based startup located out of the NRC on Ellice. If you happen to be using or interested in Ruby one of our guys runs the Ruby User Group out of our office once a month. The next one is this coming Thursday.

If that's not up your alley, we can also be found in several watering holes on Osborne, feel free to send me an e-mail, kerry -at- styckyd _ com.

[swalberg]

As another Winnipegger, I had no idea companies like this existed in our city. Maybe I'm the isolated one, but how can we spread the word about things going on in the area?

[eswat → swalberg]

Well, if you haven’t hooked up with any of the following hacker/creator communities yet, you should definitely do so. Lots of interesting groups have been coming out of Winnipeg for the past few years.

SkullSpace (WIP hackerspace): http://www.skullspace.ca/

Secret Handshake (monthly meetup for freelancers): http://www.meetup.com/secrethandshake/

Winnipeg.rb (Ruby group with a monthly meetup): http://winnipegrb.org/

Winnipeg WordPress Meetup (organized by a local Automattic employee): http://winnipegwpmeetup.wordpress.com/

[cgislason → eswat]

There is also an iPhone dev meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Winnipeg-iPhone-Developer-Meetup/

[wolfrom → eswat]

Great links. I'm a regular no-show for SkullSpace and Secret Handshake, but the other two are new to me.

[peteforde]

Have fun in California, but when you come back consider taking a hard look at what you can do to make an awesome startup scene in your own backyard, similar to the amazing tech communities in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

The key detail is that social fabric does not weave itself. Toronto's tech scene kicks ass ONLY because of the tireless efforts of folks like David Crow, Leila Boujnane, Joey "Accordion Guy" de Villa and more than I can ever remember.

Specifically: there was no tech community beyond some lame .NET user groups in Toronto when I moved here 12 years ago. Now we're probably over-saturated with opportunities to network and talk about startups... all it takes is effort, outreach and a willingness to help people.

One tip: open your office to visiting hackers. It's a great way to send a clear message to the world that Winnipeg takes the community aspect of startups seriously.

[sunkan]

You should definitely visit Hackerdojo.com. YC offices are also a couple of blocks from there.

[wolfrom → sunkan]

I was wondering about that... do people just show up unannounced?

[dwynings]

You're more than welcome to stop by and hang out at the Hacker House. Shoot me an email: dru@druwynings.com

[jasonmcalacanis]

come to launch as my guest.... jason@launch.is :-)