I don’t sign NDAs (Non Disclosure Agreements). Wait. What?
The Initial Consulting Call
As a consultant and Interim CTO I have to talk to many potential clients. In other industries these talks are called sales calls. For me it is different. These initial talks are a way to understand the challenges of a potential client and depict a way to solve those challenges.
These talks have to go deep. Very deep.
- How does your team work?
- What tech challenges do you have right now?
- What growth do you want and have to achieve?
- What does that mean for growth of your tech teams?
But I usually can’t sign an NDA for these initial calls. Simply because I am talking to so many companies and decision makers. Many businesses are similar. Many challenges are similar. This would put me in a legally impossible situation with an NDA.
Trust is Better Than an NDA
What? Not signing an NDA sounds more severe than it is. My whole business is built on trust. Most of my current business are referrals from happy clients. It’s of utter importance that all confidential information stays confidential. Even without an NDA.
My reputation is much better than an NDA, and that’s also totally clear for our clients. And this is why we don’t sign any NDAs for initial calls.
NDAs for Long-Term Relationships
Truth to be told - once we agreed on a long term collaboration I’ll sign NDAs. NDAs are important give you safety and security, and it is totally fine writing down our expectations towards that.
