To what degree does culture shape commerce? Does our national identity define us in the marketplace? Many people think so, to the degree that the typical Canadian entrepreneur is often typecast as being more timid and less prone to take risks than his or her counterpart in the United States. Although there are many elements of truth, this generalization begins to fall apart when we consider the depth, breadth and diversity of what it means to be Canadian. In other words, when it comes to business, a one-size-fits-all “Canadian approach” simply doesn’t exist.

This is no truer than when it comes to Quebec. I’ve worked in cities all around the world, each one providing me with a unique lesson about the kind of business climate I’d one day want to operate my own business in. In the end, SweetIQ, the company I co-founded, has its headquarters in Montreal – a city not known to be a start-up hotbed in a province with one of the lowest rates of entrepreneurialism in Canada.

Read the full story at theglobeandmail.com.