Like many others here, I'm not a lawyer, so don't take this as qualified legal advice. But yes, I totally agree here. I once lost out on a great opportunity be

Like many others here, I'm not a lawyer, so don't take this as qualified legal advice. But yes, I totally agree here. I once lost out on a great opportunity because I was stubborn about signing an NDA that probably would have had zero effect on my future work. In reality, it's usually a formality that companies make you sign to protect themselves. Or maybe because their investors demand it. But most companies aren't looking to sue you and most people signing NDAs aren't looking to screw over the companies they do work for. But yes, occasionally companies do come across someone who is up to no good (e.g. an unscrupulous consultant who also does work for a competitor) and in those rare cases they want the NDAs there to protect themselves.