Re:Laws barring noncompete clauses spreading
by ghaff on Tuesday November 01, 2022 @07:13PM
(#33429076)
You can argue the degree to which non-competes have contributed to Silicon Vslley success but there are a ton of companies elsewhere in the country with various degrees of non/compete enforcement that have had and have considerable success in various technology sectors. Another example is MA which historically did allow non-compete enforcement (now somewhat weakened) which spawned the whole Route 128 computer industry and more recently biotech/pharma.
Although allowed, I only once had to sign a pretty limited non-compete with an MA company. And people jumped between the various minicomputer companies all the time although tenures tended to be longer for other reasons.
Re:Laws barring noncompete clauses spreading
by lotsofpulp on Tuesday November 01, 2022 @09:24PM
(#33430311)
> Or, maybe I can choose to believe my eyes, and note that the the presence or absence of non-competes isn't a very important factor for driving a tech boom. [1]
Or that other factors of working in WA somewhat mitigate downsides of non competes. Sad that WA lawmakers accepted the bribes from large businesses and capped non compete bans at $100k per year payrates. Could have leveled the playing field with CA a bit more.
Re:Laws barring noncompete clauses spreading
by rnk on Wednesday November 02, 2022 @02:12AM
(#33431925)
Seattle succeeds because it's the same time zone and Cali, Microsoft pulled tens of thousands of programmers here, then Amazon, now we have critical mass. What we don't have is nearly as many companies starting up here. I think noncompetes do actually reduce the number of new companies started in Seattle, and also reduce people switching jobs.
As I look out the window of my Seattle apartment, observing a literal forest of new construction, sky-rocketing rents and costs of living, I must interpret the tech boom here as 'the next Silicon Valley failing', because Washington state has had a very strong form of non-competes prior to 2020, and a somewhat strong form of non-competes today.
Or, maybe I can choose to believe my eyes, and note that the the presence or absence of non-competes isn't a very important factor for driving a tech boom. [1]
It is a popular topic to bikeshed over, though.
[1] As a sibling poster points out, non-competes are absent in Canada, and yet nobody can accuse any locale in Canada of being the next SV...