As much as anything else, this advice seems to be more on "how to build a good working relationship with another entity" than it is anything in particular about

As much as anything else, this advice seems to be more on "how to build a good working relationship with another entity" than it is anything in particular about competing. In fact, it seems straight out of Dale Carnegie, and I'd guess that we could accurately summarize these points as "Build a good personal and professional relationship, and then see if that becomes a good business relationship. Even if it doesn't, maintain the personal/professional relationship." His points about using the services/products of the entrepreneurs you're interested in and about not leading with a term sheet are all about humanizing the relationship into an actual relationship, rather than one more item on one's investment portfolio.