Do VCs not sign NDAs in 2023?

Question

I'm a VC now. I have been recently asked to sign an NDA, and my approach is not to sign any NDA.If you are a VC or the founder of a tech startup, could you share what's the common approach on this in 2023?

TechBro8615 · Accepted Answer

For an early stage company (first two or three funding rounds), it's probably a good way to get mocked, on either side. As a founder asking a VC to sign an NDA you look like an inexperienced idiot, and as a VC you look like a pompous idiot.For later rounds with high investor demand to be the last private money before IPO, I could see the justification for founders asking to sign an NDA. And investors don't really have any leverage in that situation. They don't have to sign the NDA but the founders don't need their money, either.

muzani · Answer

I once went to an investor who did the same business model. It was something they wanted to invest in, but couldn't find the right person, so they did it themselves.
We debated a lot, and learned a lot from his other. We were solving the same problem (groceries), but he wanted to solve it for expats, and I wanted to solve it for professional working moms. Basically, we were fixing our own problems.
5 years later, his startup still doesn't access my area and I never got the funds to make a delivery fleet. So even with all the secrets leaked, it didn't matter.