Is there a difference between what I tell a casual inquiry versus a serious prospect?

Yes, and treating every inquiry the same way — either overly guarded with everyone or overly generous with everyone — tends to work against you. A casual, early-stage inquiry generally warrants only general information: industry, rough size, and enough of a profile to let someone decide whether they're genuinely interested, without a signed agreement and often without identifying the business at all. There's little reason to go further until the person shows some real signal of seriousness.

A prospect who has signed a confidentiality agreement, shown evidence of financial capacity, and is asking specific, informed questions has earned a different tier of disclosure — a more detailed overview, and eventually financial statements and other sensitive material as the relationship progresses further. The judgment call is where exactly to draw each line, and it's fine to move someone between tiers based on how the conversation develops rather than fixed rules. What matters is being deliberate about it rather than sharing based on how persistent or friendly someone seems. A Treadstone business lawyer can help you set out tiers of disclosure tied to concrete milestones rather than gut feel.