I think what he's getting at with the NDA point is the start of the conversation. As an ex-finance/NYC guy, you see this all the time in New York (thankfully its getting less frequent but I just had it happen again the other day): you meet a founder, he/she has an idea, and in order for him/her to share the idea, they ask you to sign an NDA. Just to hear the idea. Happens with alarming frequency.