Entrepreneurial Shift: Mai Trinh Moves from Vancouver to San Francisco

Mai Trinh, a tech entrepreneur from Vancouver, has shifted her focus from building a local tech community to launching her own startup in San Francisco. After founding the Red Thread Club to support the Gen Z tech scene in Vancouver, Trinh decided to move to the United States, where she believes opportunities for growth and innovation are more accessible.

Trinh, a graduate of Simon Fraser University, stated that her decision to leave Canada was influenced by the advantages of the U.S. market. “The US lets us test, ship, and scale faster before bringing those capabilities back into Canada the right way,” she explained. This summer, she launched Internet Backyard, an AI startup, in San Francisco alongside co-founder Gabriel Ravacci. They have successfully raised $4.5 million USD (approximately $6.2 million CAD) in funding, with a valuation of $25 million USD (about $34.5 million CAD). The pre-seed funding round was led by the U.S. firm Basis Set, with contributions from various investors including Crucible Capital and Maple VC.

In her previous role, Trinh aimed to foster a vibrant tech community in Vancouver through Red Thread Club. However, after attending what she described as “the most uninspiring tech event” at Web Summit Vancouver, she channeled her frustration into creating events aimed at enriching the local startup ecosystem. Despite her efforts, she found that her commitments to Red Thread became a time-consuming endeavor, leading her to reassess her career trajectory.

While preparing to apply for permanent residency in Canada, Trinh faced challenges in aligning her startup ambitions with immigration requirements. “I was working from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. every night,” she noted, highlighting the demanding nature of startup life. A conversation with her immigration lawyer revealed that relocating to the U.S. might be the most viable option for her entrepreneurial goals.

As Trinh and Ravacci developed Internet Backyard, they introduced their first product, Gnomos. This platform leverages AI to provide data-centre operators with real-time insights into key metrics such as energy consumption and costs. Trinh noted that many operators still rely on outdated methods for financial management, which hampers their ability to respond to the growing demand for computational power. “No one has the metrics of their building, their usage, their heat, their liquid, their capex [capital expenditure],” she stated, emphasizing the need for modern solutions in this area.

Gnomos aims to streamline financial processes by automating quotes, bills, payments, and dispute resolution. Trinh is targeting mid-market data centre operators and newcomers to the industry. Interestingly, despite her move to the U.S., one of Internet Backyard’s first customers is a Canadian data centre operator based in Vancouver, AxiNorth.

Trinh’s transition from Canada to the U.S. reflects a broader trend among Canadian tech leaders seeking more conducive environments for innovation. Data from Leaders Fund, a Toronto-based firm, indicates that only 32.4 percent of Canadian-led startups that raised over $1 million USD in 2024 were based in Canada. This statistic underscores the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in navigating Canada’s fragmented regulatory landscape compared to the more streamlined processes in the U.S.

After her experiences with Red Thread Club gained recognition, Trinh began receiving messages from other young founders in similar predicaments regarding immigration and startup challenges. While she maintains strong ties to Vancouver’s tech community, her primary focus is now on building Internet Backyard. “I don’t really care about being a founder,” Trinh remarked. “I just care about fixing the problem.”

Her journey exemplifies the complexities faced by tech entrepreneurs in balancing aspirations with regulatory realities, highlighting a shift in the landscape for Canadian innovators.