NDA or the highway: protecting secrets during a pitch

Companies looking to grow may be in need of a powerful, influential partner. But when courting for business, it is essential to be ruled by the head rather than the heart, finds Muireann Bolger.

There are few things more tantalising than the prospect of a new partner, especially for an ambitious start-up.

And the journey towards closing a potential deal will mean meetings, either virtual or in person, often fostering a sense of trust, ease, even friendship.

But then silence: the start-up is ghosted for a period or rejected outright, and the proposal comes to nothing.