Not giving legal advice but here are my two-cents: 1) Possible tax savings: Signing bonuses are taxed as income. If you held your stock long enough, you may qu

Not giving legal advice but here are my two-cents: 1) Possible tax savings: Signing bonuses are taxed as income. If you held your stock long enough, you may qualify for long-term capital gains tax treatment. 2) Silicon Valley is a repeat player business. You don't want to screw over your investors if you want to raise more funds or do anything else here where folks might ask around about you. 3) Non-competes are generally unenforceable in CA except in certain situations, including the acquisition of a company.