Everyone should move to San Francisco
(But not for the reasons you think)
Did you know that out of 195 recognized countries in the world, 91 require some form of mandatory national service?
I didn’t, until I wrote this post.
So, what’s the tech equivalent of mandatory service? What experience is so vital that it should practically be compulsory for anyone helping to build the future?
If you’re in tech, spending time in SF (the Bay Area) is it.
I know, that sounds a bit intense. But it’s not.
Let me preface by saying that this post is not about SF’s money, job opportunities, or overall economic opportunities. This post is about something deeper and more important, yet even simpler than you can imagine.
Feedback as a Core Competency
Here’s the thing: in Canada, we’re nice. Unnecessarily and debilitatingly so.
We don’t do feedback well. We struggle to tell someone that their idea isn’t quite there, or that their product needs real work. Our feedback is often sugar-coated, vague, or too focused on surface-level polish — “That looks cool” or “I don’t like the colors” — when it should be about leverage, growth, and winning.
SF operates on a different operating system. Feedback there is direct, often brutal, but always with the intent to sharpen, refine, and push you forward. It’s less about being nice and more about being useful. It’s feedback with velocity — actionable, unfiltered, and deeply rooted in a culture of building things that matter.
It’s the kind of feedback that says, “Change this button to X because it’ll likely boost conversion by Y, and here’s why.” It’s not about making you feel good, it’s about making you better.
That’s a critical distinction.
Why This Matters Now
Right now, we’re at the start of a wave bigger than the mobile and cloud boom combined. The whole operating stack powering our economy is being rewritten, and the rules of software are changing in real time. New models, new APIs, new markets — trillions of dollars are up for grabs, but the window to capture this opportunity won’t stay open forever.
The winners of this wave will be the ones who learn and ship at the same time, treating each feedback loop as a chance to iterate, pivot, or double down. They’re not waiting for permission. They’re sprinting, collecting data, and letting the market tell them which direction to run.
Because velocity compounds. The companies that build fast today will have an outsized advantage tomorrow. And in an era where a million dollars can be minted over a long weekend, the ability to move quickly and learn in real time is the ultimate unfair advantage.
Don’t Waste Today
So, is a physical move to SF essential for everyone? Perhaps not permanently.
But, exposure to its unique operational tempo, its relentless pursuit of excellence, and its culture of radical, actionable feedback makes it such that it should be a prerequisite to anyone in tech.
That said, while time in SF is akin to basic training, I still love Canada. I still love Toronto.
