Industry guide
Closing a startup? Its data can still be licensed
When a startup shuts down, its Slack, repos, tickets and docs usually sit unused until they are deleted. MIT Technology Review reported more than 150 deals where AI labs bought that kind of archive through SimpleClosure.
Most of it already sits in Slack or Teams, GitHub, Jira or Linear, Google Workspace and a CRM. Buyers want the written trail of how your team actually does the work, so most owners lead with SOPs and training material, then add day-to-day records once personal details are dealt with.
- Key figure
- 150+
- Buyers' published range
- $100K to $2M+
- Time to a written offer
- Days to 2 weeks
- Owner time, per buyers
- 1 to 3 hours
01 / What buyers value
Records a buyer will look for at a startup
Slack or Teams workspace
Where it lives
Slack
Why a buyer wants it
How a team actually worked
Raise first
Employee messages
Code repositories
Where it lives
GitHub
Why a buyer wants it
Real product code and reviews
Raise first
Third-party code licenses
Jira or Linear history
Where it lives
Ticketing
Why a buyer wants it
Planning and execution
Raise first
Customer names
Docs, wiki and design files
Where it lives
Notion, Drive, Figma
Why a buyer wants it
Decisions and specs
Raise first
Investor and customer info
Email and CRM
Where it lives
Google Workspace and CRM
Why a buyer wants it
Sales and partnerships
Raise first
Contact details
| Record | Where it lives | Why a buyer wants it | Raise first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slack or Teams workspace | Slack | How a team actually worked | Employee messages |
| Code repositories | GitHub | Real product code and reviews | Third-party code licenses |
| Jira or Linear history | Ticketing | Planning and execution | Customer names |
| Docs, wiki and design files | Notion, Drive, Figma | Decisions and specs | Investor and customer info |
| Email and CRM | Google Workspace and CRM | Sales and partnerships | Contact details |
02 / Value
Putting a number on a startup's data
No buyer publishes a price list by industry. What they do publish is a range for a whole company: micro1, Polyshares and Ventra each advertise deals from roughly $100K to $2M or more, and Pewter's licensing partner cites examples between $350K and $650K. Read those as the buyers' own marketing figures, not offers.
For a startup of about 30 people, three things move the number most: how many years of history you have, how much of the work is written down in one place, and how cleanly client and employee details can be removed. Try the worth estimator for a range based on your size.
03 / Buyers
Which buyers take startups closing down
On Troveo's intake form, the closest category ("developer tools, data and AI infrastructure") sits in the top of its four demand tiers, the group it says buyers pay a premium for. Polyshares accepts software and saas, though it does not mark it as premium.
Published size rule
Asks for at least 30 staff, with no upper limit
A 30-person startup
Fits at 30
Published size rule
At least 20 full-time US office employees, or 10 for accounting and 6 for law
A 30-person startup
Fits at 30
Published size rule
At least 20 W-2 staff in the US and three years of history
A 30-person startup
Fits at 30
Published size rule
At least 20 people and three years, with a higher bar in some sectors
A 30-person startup
Fits at 30
Published size rule
At least 30 US staff and three years of data
A 30-person startup
Fits at 30
Published size rule
Around 30 people or more
A 30-person startup
Fits at 30
Published size rule
No headcount floor; it weighs how deep the record goes
A 30-person startup
No size floor
Published size rule
Publishes no minimum
A 30-person startup
No size floor
Published size rule
Publishes no minimum (its calculator begins at 20)
A 30-person startup
No size floor
| Buyer | Published size rule | A 30-person startup |
|---|---|---|
| micro1 | Asks for at least 30 staff, with no upper limit | Fits at 30 |
| Mode | At least 20 full-time US office employees, or 10 for accounting and 6 for law | Fits at 30 |
| Nyne | At least 20 W-2 staff in the US and three years of history | Fits at 30 |
| Pewter | At least 20 people and three years, with a higher bar in some sectors | Fits at 30 |
| Ventra | At least 30 US staff and three years of data | Fits at 30 |
| Endless | Around 30 people or more | Fits at 30 |
| Polyshares | No headcount floor; it weighs how deep the record goes | No size floor |
| Mercor | Publishes no minimum | No size floor |
| Troveo | Publishes no minimum (its calculator begins at 20) | No size floor |
Some buyers pay us a referral fee. It never changes your price, and it never changes the order of our rankings.
04 / Typical week
What one ordinary week produces
- Monday: standup threads in Slack.
- Tuesday: a feature spec reviewed in Notion.
- Wednesday: twelve pull requests merged.
- Thursday: a customer call logged in the CRM.
- Friday: a board update drafted.
Illustrative. Multiply one week by every year you have kept, and that is the record a buyer is looking at. The written decisions matter more than the totals.
05 / Process
How a deal works
- 1
Check the fit
Answer a few questions about headcount, years of records and the systems you use. No files change hands.
- 2
Inventory call
A buyer walks through what you hold and what it wants. Most say the owner spends one to three hours in total.
- 3
Written offer
Buyers usually send terms within days to two weeks: price, scope, term and whether the deal is exclusive.
- 4
Clean and deliver
Personal details are removed under the agreed method, then a copy is exported. Your originals stay where they are.
micro1
What it asks for
Procedures, internal wikis, project and task history, CRM activity
Offer and payment
Up to 30 days to review, then paid within 30 days of invoice
Ask about
Its master terms describe a perpetual license. It says it strips personal details "when relevant", so ask exactly how.
Ventra
What it asks for
Mainly inboxes, recorded calls and helpdesk tickets
Offer and payment
Offer in 3 to 7 days, then net 30 or 60
Ask about
Its terms warn it may be unable to erase data after delivery.
Polyshares
What it asks for
Inboxes, recorded calls, helpdesk tickets and ERP extracts
Offer and payment
Offer in 1 to 2 weeks, paid in 30 to 60 days
Ask about
Licenses are exclusive by default.
Pewter
What it asks for
Operating records for the industries on its list
Offer and payment
No fee to the owner, it says
Ask about
Launched October 2026 by a Florida sales agency. Its licensing partner, not Pewter, signs and pays.
| Buyer | What it asks for | Offer and payment | Ask about |
|---|---|---|---|
| micro1 | Procedures, internal wikis, project and task history, CRM activity | Up to 30 days to review, then paid within 30 days of invoice | Its master terms describe a perpetual license. It says it strips personal details "when relevant", so ask exactly how. |
| Ventra | Mainly inboxes, recorded calls and helpdesk tickets | Offer in 3 to 7 days, then net 30 or 60 | Its terms warn it may be unable to erase data after delivery. |
| Polyshares | Inboxes, recorded calls, helpdesk tickets and ERP extracts | Offer in 1 to 2 weeks, paid in 30 to 60 days | Licenses are exclusive by default. |
| Pewter | Operating records for the industries on its list | No fee to the owner, it says | Launched October 2026 by a Florida sales agency. Its licensing partner, not Pewter, signs and pays. |
06 / Timing
If you are selling or winding down
A data license can sit alongside a sale or a wind-down. If you are selling the business, agree with the acquirer who keeps the right to license the archive. If you are closing down, keep the workspace and inboxes alive until a buyer has seen them. A closed company is not out of options: SimpleClosure reports more than 150 completed sales of shut-down startups' archives.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Is it too late if we already shut down?
Not if the workspace and repos still exist. Keep them alive and paid until a buyer has seen them.
Who handles startup data deals?
Wind-down services such as SimpleClosure and Sunset run these deals, and direct buyers such as micro1 run defunct company tracks too.
Is a 30-person startup big enough?
9 of the 9 buyers in our size check take a startup that size, going by their own published rules. Below 20 people your options narrow to the buyers with no stated minimum.
Do we lose our records if we license them?
No. A license gives the buyer a copy for agreed uses and your originals stay put. Read the term and deletion clauses closely: micro1's master terms describe a perpetual license, and Ventra warns it may be unable to erase data after delivery.
Find the buyers that fit your company
Answer a few questions about your size, tools and history. We show which buyers want a company like yours. Free, no files.
Keep reading
Sources
Every number on this page links back to one of these.
- 101net.it: Simpleclosure assethub on track to return 10m to venture backed startu01net.it
- 2technologyreview.com: Ai labs buying data from dead startups to train modelstechnologyreview.com
- 3troveo.ai: How much is company data worthtroveo.ai
- 4troveo.ai: License company data for aitroveo.ai
- 5Troveo: Business data programtroveo.ai
- 6Polyshares: Sell company datapolyshares.com
- 7micro1: Company referral programmicro1.ai
- 8Beri: micro1 enterprise data partnerships, terms and risksberi.net
- 9Mode: Data program requirementsdata.mode.inc
- 10Nyne: Sell company datanyne.ai
- 11Pewter: Company data licensingpewterdata.com
- 12Pewter: Partner examplespewterdata.com
- 13Ventra: Company datajoinventra.com
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