September, 2022
I’ve seen a few seed companies try and recruit key employees from their nearest competitors. If you’re under 20 employees, hiring a VP+ position, and legally clear from non competes, I’d strongly be asking the question: “does this person actually buy into my overall vision?”
If the answer is “yes”, you’re probably clear. If its anything but that, I’d be super careful. By no means you want your company’s course to remotely run into that of your competitor’s. By reducing differentiation, you’ll reduce the chances of your company’s outright win.
And if you’re bringing them on because you believe in their vision which is totally different from yours and the competitor, then I’d be asking the question: “Am I even the right person to lead this seed/series A company?”