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Lessons learnedExperience excerpt · English

In my experience, at least with startups, non compete agreements are often pushed and drafted by …

In my experience, at least with startups, non compete agreements are often pushed and drafted by the legal team of the entities investing in the business. Investors want to be protected and their attorneys will do anything that's necessary to make sure there aren't loopholes left open for ideas to be stolen. The result is poorly drafted and ridiculously broad non compete clauses that would not be enforceable in most if not all states. However even when they may not be enforceable (and you will hear the hiring manager saying that 100 times), non competes can still hurt candidates big time once they go back to the job market because many companies actually have provisions to disqualify those coming in with the extra baggage of a non compete. If candidate A and B have very similar skills and experience and A has a non compete and B doesn't, why would anyone bother with A? So it is true, non competes are in most cases non enforceable but they can still reduce your chances of getting a (better) job. …

Original discussionNoncompete clauses: Companies say they need them, research shows that’s not true100 source comments · at import
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> non competes can still hurt candidates big time once they go back to the job market because many companies actually have provisions to disqualify those coming in with the extra baggage of a non compete. Get a lawyer, ensure it's not enforcable, then sign it. If you're in CA, sign it. If you're in MA and there is no garden leave clause, sign it. Then do what you want. When a hiring company asks if you have a non-compete, specify: "I am not bound by an enforceable non-compete". If they ask for specifics, explain and mention the law firm you consulted. This has always worked for me. I suppose you could also just say you're not bound by a non-compete, and leave it at that, as that's also not a lie. If I sell myself into slavery in the USA, then I can -- without lying -- tell everyone I'm definitely not a slave. Because I'm definitely, absolutely, not. Non-competes are no different: if it'…

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> Investors want to be protected and their attorneys will do anything that's necessary to make sure there aren't loopholes left open for ideas to be stolen. The result is poorly drafted and ridiculously broad non compete clauses that would not be enforceable in most if not all states. if the result is "poorly drafted and unenforceable", how can you say that they "made sure there aren't loopholes left open for ideas to be stolen"? makes zero sense.

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A day after starting my second big tech job, I had to fill out a form about “prior legal obligations.” I mentioned my prior employer made me sign a form similar to the one they had made me sign. An hou later I was pulled aside by the CFO, and quizzed about the tech I used at the previous company (to make sure it wasn’t the same tech we were using there). I was worried I had just lost my job.

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