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Ask HN: What is the norm for NDAs with Mentors?

4 points by frankwong ↗ HN
I was wondering what is proper etiquette when approaching potential mentors who are professional VC/investors. I certainly would feel more comfortable with a NDA in place, but also don't want to offend a potentially valuable mentor. Since this person is a VC, I am sure he sees many projects. But I also don't want to get into the Urban Fetch / Kozmo situation.

Thanks for any input.

6 comments

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Robin_Message
I would have thought they will treat the idea with professional courtesy and respect your wishes if you ask them to keep it secret, but they cannot sign NDAs on every pitch, else they would soon be unable to do their jobs, because they would be legally unable to talk about or fund anything—ideas are not so unique.
mjfern
I would suggest that asking a mentor to sign an NDA is inappropriate. You are already asking the mentor to do you a significant favor by providing ongoing advice and guidance. To then ask a mentor to sign a legal document is placing an unfair burden on the mentor.

The two solutions are to either (a) find a mentor you can trust with confidential information or (b) keep your "secret sauce" information private until you have created others barriers to entry.

frankwong
Thank you for your thoughts. Definitely holding back the secret sauce is a good idea. Also, I am fairly far along in the project development which I hope the momentum will create at least a small barrier.
petervandijck
Your secret sauce is probably less secret and less saucy than you think :)
md1515
Most of the time a VC or investor is not going to take your idea and decide to stop investing, but instead go back to his basement and code for hours on end.

I would suggest not even mentioning an NDA and don't worry about spilling the secret sauce. It's hard enough to get advice from them so why make your/their life any harder?

frankwong
It is a consensus. Very clear what I should do. Thank you all.