From an imploding ship to the competitor.

Those who have seen my previous posts about the imploding start up, here is an update.

I have two promising new potential job prospects.

1. A competitor, younger than my current company but seems like better history (other related businesses are leading this one) and people thus far. Better pay is the primary pull here.
2. A large education-based company selling to adult education program types. Great benefits, base is a bit lower than my current but I may be able to negotiate that up some.

Both are remote, which I miss and seem to have promise.

I interviewed with the competitor and they were impressed because although I only have 6 months under my belt currently, they mentioned interviewing others with no industry experience at all.

The education company interview with the manager is tomorrow. I have heard good things about them in general from most I have talked to.

Here is where I need help, I am leaning towards the education company because of non-competes and such. That said, I like to keep my options open in case the competitor is the only open option after the interviews are settled.

The owner of the company I work for currently told me (because I came from a competitor, not directly but still) that he is lax with non-competes so long as I "don't pitch up shop next door and steal his clients"....not sure how much I trust him because he has had lawsuit issues in the past and a month after I came on had "updated documents" and told us it was just the payroll company streamlining things or something but the updates were essentially saying disputes need to be handled through adjudication.

I live in a state that is At-Will and very employer-friendly and not very employee friendly.

Attaching an image of the particulars. However, it highlights that employees can not participate with direct competitors within a 50-mile radius of the current company headquarters.

How does this work if I am remote but the company is based out of an entirely different state well over 50 miles away?

Also, how would they know if I directly or indirectly recruited coworkers that I know deserve better? Just an assumption or if someone leaving the company mentions I told them to apply?

******Open to any resources or thoughts. Be nice, I did a lot of research with Sales AI but mostly saw people asking "is there a non compete..." Thought I would try a personal post. Thanks war room!