r/VancouverStartup

The Competition Bureau launched a market study this year specifically because SME lending in Canada isn't competitive at all.

Link: https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/en/how-we-foster-competition/promotion-and-advocacy/market-study-competition-financing-canadas-small-and-medium-businesses

If you've ever tried to actually get financing as a small business, you know that it's really hard to do so. Banks take forever and they often ghost you, you have to have your credit score pulled, you upload manual bank statements, and half the time they still want a personal guarantee before they'll even talk with you. And many times, you can't get financing.

This is the team at Huumans, and full disclosure, we're building a a lending recommendation engine to solve for these challenges.

We're building a recommendation engine that takes your business's actual profile and gives you a ranked shortlist of financing options that fit your need/financial situation. We will provide choice for small businesses, and not just point financing options to us, but provide the best and most affordable options.

We want to stress test this and make it great!!! And we need 50 business owners to run their real (or hypothetical) financing scenario through it and tell us where it's wrong.

This will take 15 min, no obligation to use anything it suggests. We especially want people who want to know their financing options or to learn about loans and how to grow with them!!

Comment or DM if you're interested - thank you in advance!!!!

Hey Maple Ridge! 👋

We’re Sauce Culture, a local food truck bringing bold fusion flavours to the Lower Mainland.

We’re now accepting bookings for caterings, employee appreciation days, corporate events, weddings, private parties, community gatherings, and more!

Our popular menu items includes:

🍟 Jerk Chicken and Butter Chicken Poutine
🍝 Our signature Pastafarri Jerk Penne

Our chicken is 100% halal, and spice levels can be customized upon request.

Looking to bring something memorable to your next event? We’d love to serve you!

Contact Us:
📧 sauceculture.ca

Hi I'm Daye! We've built Property Copilot, it's an early stage startup.

When I first moved from Korea to study in Vancouver, Canada, the hardest part living here was to find a place to live, harder than classes, harder than adjusting to everything else. I had no idea what a normal lease looked like here, what my rights were, or who I could actually trust. A friend of mine actually did get scammed out of $3,000 on a rental deposit a few years ago, and it still bothers me that something like that can happen so easily to someone who's just trying to find a place to live.

That stuck with me, so when I had the change to join the team called Property Copilot, it felt like a problem worth spending real time on. We put the whole renting process, listing, applications, screening, ID verification, digital leases, rent reporting, into one place instead of ten different apps and a lot of guesswork.

For tenants specifically, that means listings and landlords are actually verified so you're not guessing who you're sending a deposit to, and rent payments that actually count toward building credit history here!

I know some people here might be either renting out places or looking for one in BC. I'd genuinely like to hear what's been the most frustrating part of that process for you. And if you want to try the app and tell us what's missing, that would help a lot, we're building this for landlords, renters including newcomers and international students, and we don't want to get any of it wrong.

Here's the link https://www.propertycopilot.io/

Thanks for reading this far!

Hello Folks, I’m building something in the software and data space out of Vancouver and I'm at the point where I want to start talking to people.

The idea has been in the works for a while. I'm not here to pitch it publicly but the foundation is solid. 

Would be glad to hear thoughts; People who have been around early-stage stuff understand what it takes to get something off the ground, and anyone might want to be involved in some way down the line and be interested in hearing more about it.

Hey everyone,

I’m a UBC Sauder student currently looking for CS/software development students who may be interested in helping build a startup/app that I’ve been developing.

I don't want to publicly share too much about the concept at this stage, but it’s in the sports/tech space and I believe there’s a legitimate opportunity to build something significant with the right team.

A little about me: I currently run an online sports community/business that has grown to 3,000+ members with a paid subscriber base. I’ve handled the business, marketing, monetization, content, and community side, and already have an audience that could potentially be used for early testing and launch.

I’m looking for people with experience or interest in areas such as:

• Full-stack development
• Mobile app development
• APIs and third-party integrations
• Databases/backend development
• UI/UX
• Building and launching real products

You do not need to be an expert or have graduated yet. I’m open to students of different experience levels as long as you're motivated, reliable, and genuinely interested in building something.

If you're interested, send me a DM introducing yourself, what year/program you're in, your development experience, projects you've worked on, your tech stack, and a GitHub/portfolio if you have one.

I’ll be going through everyone who reaches out and contacting the people who I think could be a good fit to discuss the idea in more detail.

Compensation/equity and level of involvement can be discussed depending on experience and fit.

Hi, I’m Samar, 22, and I’ve been living in Vancouver for about 3.5 years. I studied Business Administration and have always been interested in e-commerce, entrepreneurship, and self-employment.

So far, I’ve launched one e-commerce business — my poster brand, SamArt, on Amazon. I eventually shut it down after spending more than I wanted on advertising, but the experience gave me hands-on knowledge of sourcing suppliers, product research and development, AI-assisted design, image/video editing, shipping orders, and managing platforms like Amazon, Shopify, and Wix.

Since then, I’ve explored and researched a number of other business ideas, and I’m now looking to actually build something new with the right person.

I’m looking to connect with people in Vancouver who are serious about building something together — whether that’s e-commerce, a DTC brand, SaaS, or another interesting business idea.

I don't have specialised experience in anything, but I’m willing to put in the work and contribute to the research, marketing, organic TikTok/Instagram content, product development, branding, and day-to-day execution side.

If you’re also looking to build something rather than just talk about ideas, feel free to DM me. I’d be happy to grab a coffee in Vancouver and see if we’re a good fit.

Looking forward to meeting some fellow builders!

Hey everyone,

I’m based in BC and looking to connect with someone who’s interested in building software products/startups together.

I’m a developer and have already built and shipped multiple apps. I’m especially interested in consumer software, AI tools, productivity apps, and finding small problems we can build around and validate quickly.
I’m not looking to meet someone today and hand them 50% of a company tomorrow. I’d rather meet another ambitious builder, work on something small together, see how we work, and go from there.

Ideally you’re strong in one or more of:

Testing
Growth/marketing/distribution
Sales/business development

More important than the exact skillset is that you actually like building and shipping things.

I’m in the Vancouver area and would prefer someone in BC so we can meet in person occasionally, but I’m open to elsewhere in Canada for the right person.
If you’re working on something yourself or have been wanting to start something, DM me. Happy to grab coffee and trade ideas.

Hey everyone, I’m a founder based in Surrey, BC. We've built a B2B construction/safety management platform that uses small NFC tags attached to workers' safety vests to streamline site management. You can learn more about the platform as the site is live at sitetag.ca.

The heavy lifting on the tech side is done. My two developers and I have the core software ready to go. Now, I'm looking for a co-founder to lead the charge on sales, marketing, and getting this into the hands of construction companies.

As mentioned, I'm based in Surrey and really want someone local to Metro Van. I'm a big believer in making sure we click before signing anything. If you have a background in sales or marketing and want to build something great, let's grab a coffee, talk shop, and see if there's a fit.

If interested, Shoot me a dm with a bit about your background!

I'll be straight with you.

I built a platform for franchise operators and I'm decent at building and marketing but I don't come from the franchise world. That's been my biggest problem from day one

The platform has two sides: one for operators who own multiple locations of the same brand and want to manage everything candidates, hiring, activity in one place instead of chasing each manager individually. And another for franchisees who want to connect with others in the same brand and share strong candidates instead of losing them.
I've been talking to operators for months and the conversations have been genuinely useful. But what I'm missing is someone who actually knows how this world works from the inside a franchisee, a multi-unit operator, a franchise consultant who could help me understand where I'm getting it wrong and who I should actually be talking to

Not looking for investment. Not looking for a co-founder. Just someone willing to have an honest conversation with someone who built something in their space without fully understanding it first.

If that's you, or you know someone, drop a comment or DM me.

I am uncertain whether this is the appropriate community for my question. I will attend my first business event on 26 August 2026.

I am seeking suggestions from those who have attended such gatherings:
- What are the do’s and don’ts?
- What should I be aware of?
- Are there any unspoken rules?

Please DM if you are also attending it. Location at Karma Lounge.

I am looking for an activity updating directories that lists new startups and businesses

I’m 23 M in Van, recently don’t very well in stock options, looking to remove some capital from the market into a business. Preferably partnering up with 2-3 other young guys in van to start a new project.

If your in a similar position let me know just wanting to chat

Hi everyone,

I’m a BC-based founder working to bring a methanol-based fuel cell power generator into the Canadian market. I previously developed a lab prototype at approximately the 1 kW level, and the project is now moving from TRL 4–5 engineering development toward a TRL 6 demonstration in a relevant operating environment.

The biggest challenge is not only technical. I need to connect with early users who can help define the product and demonstration requirements, with the longer-term goal of securing Letter of Interest and funding opportunities.

I would appreciate speaking with anyone who has experience in:

• clean-energy or industrial hardware commercialization;
• early customer development and field demonstrations;
• hardware certification, manufacturing, or supply chains;
• Canadian cleantech funding and research partnerships.

I am not seeking to sell an unfinished product or solicit investment through this post. I am looking for practical guidance and relevant introductions.

I’m happy to share a non-confidential project brief privately or meet locally in Vancouver area. Thank you.

I'm looking to partner with 2–3 consumer startups to run creative growth marketing experiments that drive awareness, word-of-mouth, and customer acquisition.

These will be pilot engagements, so I'm happy to work at no cost in exchange for the opportunity to build strong, measurable case studies.

A bit about me: I'm a tier-1 IIT graduate with 5 years of experience across product, marketing, and building my own startup. Over the years, I've developed a deep interest in marketing that earns attention through creativity, not just bigger ad budgets.

If you're building a consumer brand (or know someone who is) and are open to experimenting with unconventional growth ideas, I'd love to connect.

Hey everyone!

I absolutely love photo booth pictures, especially the vintage-style photo strips. It recently hit me that we barely have any photo booth options in my region, and that's what got me thinking...for a business to start!

The dream is to eventually have two different setups:

* A vintage-style analog photo booth (the enclosed booth with classic photo strips)

* A modern mobile photo booth for weddings, birthdays, corporate events, and other celebrations.

I'm still in the research phase, so I'm trying to learn as much as I can before investing any money.

I haven't decided on a final location yet, but I'm currently thinking somewhere in the Central Okanagan (Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland, etc.) or Kamloops.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's in the industry or has started a similar business.

A few things I'm curious about:

* What's a realistic startup budget?

* Is it better to buy a booth or build one?

* Any hidden costs or mistakes to watch out for?

* How did you get your first bookings?

* Do you think there's still room in the market if you offer something a little different?

* If you were starting over, what would you do differently?

* Would you start with a mobile booth first and add an analog booth later, or go all in from the beginning?

Honestly, I'd appreciate any advice, lessons learned, or resources you can share. I'm really excited about the idea, but I also want to make sure I'm thinking it through properly before taking the plunge.

Thanks guys!