I like the sound of how you did that. If someone tries to pull a surprise reveal on you they're hardly treating you with the respect you deserve in an intervie

I like the sound of how you did that. If someone tries to pull a surprise reveal on you they're hardly treating you with the respect you deserve in an interviewing context. Making it clear to them this is not acceptable behavior by disengaging is the only real signal you could send. I have been in many situations where someone wants to talk about a gig but tries to squirm it around to more of a favor on the promise of some future funding event paying me. I usually have more experience than the other party, in such situations, with the funding process and likelihood of their success in it. What annoys me isn't the over-reach, it's the deception. It's being treated like an idiot who cannot handle the truth by someone who fears the rejection that might come with being up front. Truth is I do freebies and favors all the time, when I have spare cycles, as I really want people who have ideas to be successful - and if I can help I love to do so. But they need to be honest with me up front. Sounds like you were dealing with inexperienced folks (though I'm extrapolating from insufficient data so I might be wrong there). If so you have done them a favor by sending them market signals about what they're offering and what they can likely get in return. I think you're right about dirty pool.