I experienced the same thing when I was at the pre-seed stage. I got an email from an exec at our competitor trying to hire me. I figured I'd grab dinner with

I experienced the same thing when I was at the pre-seed stage. I got an email from an exec at our competitor trying to hire me. I figured I'd grab dinner with them to see what they had to say, and they ended up being completely transparent with their business and sales strategy, competitive advantage, their opinion on our other competitors, etc. All while I reciprocated very little information about my business. The cost was a few days of distraction, but it turned out to be tremendously valuable in understanding the market (and this particular competitor).