I could have said "Building something great out of nothing and trying to be the best" is very much embedded into American folklore and culture, but not so much in Canadian.
I had a very long conversation about this with 3 generations of Canadian entrepreneurs (none of them tech mind you) and we all had a good laugh about this very topic. Again, sorry if anecdotal evidence doesn't do it for you.
In all this, there is some sense that we (as Canadians) are fundamentally different than our American friends. I do agree (it's just a feeling) that these perceived differences are holding us back in many ways.
Could this be culture? Could this be our more left-leaning ideologies? Could there be some small thinking involved?
As a Canadian who was invited to partake in the American workforce more than once but decided on staying here - I believe Canada has more to offer than America.
> My goal was to try and build something out of nothing and hopefully be the best in the world.
Can I counter your personal anecdote about your friends not appreciating success, with your own personal story of founding a business?
I grew up outside of Toronto, and I'm friends with a dozen Canadians that have founded technology companies. I wouldn't say that we "don't appreciate success".
The point isn't that I'm right and you're wrong. The point is that you can't make gross generalizations about an entire country based on your anecdotal life story.