I am interviewing people for a few key hire roles, such as CTO and COO. I am curious if there is a limit to how much information you would share with your candidates about the company during the interview process? Would you share any proprietary information? I am not necessarily worried about someone stealing my idea or anything; it is more of being protective of the work you have done so far with a relative stranger.

For example, I have a company in the sustainability sector, and I have built this network of partners that have amazing synergies and are in a great place to solve the problem we are addressing. This partner network has also made us attractive to investors. I was speaking with a COO candidate today, and I became apprehensive when he started digging into these partners, like why does he want the specifics?

Obviously, I want him to have all the information as he makes this important decision to join an early-stage company, but where do I draw the line?

Side note: regarding sustainability, I am perfectly fine sharing everything about us once we are established in public with our solution. Because the more companies are working on this problem, the better it is for all of us. I am just afraid of a large player squashing us before we are even born.