A lot of events can happen between now and then - they have made no hard promises (and to their credit they seem to have been truthful about why), but if they d

A lot of events can happen between now and then - they have made no hard promises (and to their credit they seem to have been truthful about why), but if they don't get a contract secured, then you're out of a job and delayed in a search for for a new one. That describes a path where one set of outcomes that can basically delay your life progress. It seems you don't have any hard stake in the startup, you have a soft stake in the work relationship there - but I would suggest that if that relationship doesn't stretch to accommodate the risks of both sides than it really wasn't that much of a relationship to start with. You can be as kind as possible and say you're not looking specifically to leave, but that you feel you have to keep your options as open as possible too, and I think that is perfectly fair on your part.