My interpretation is that IP is something that you have to deal with, even if you don't think it matters. The ways that he suggests you deal with it are to (a)

My interpretation is that IP is something that you have to deal with, even if you don't think it matters. The ways that he suggests you deal with it are to (a) explicitly assign IP early, (b) document external communications of novel ideas and file provisional patents before one year is up, (c) be aware of IP when negotiating with contractors and customers. Those sound reasonable even for startups, and will hopefully keep you out of trouble (or provide unexpected value) later on. IP is unlikely to pay out, but so is your startup.