Data you can usually sell
Data that does not identify anyone is the simplest to sell. Aggregated usage statistics, market research, anonymised datasets, content you created and models trained on data you were entitled to use can generally be transferred like any other asset.
- Anonymised or aggregated usage data
- Proprietary datasets the company created or licensed for resale
- Content, such as articles, templates or design assets
- Trained models and their training pipelines, where the training data allowed it
Personal data needs care
Personal data about users, such as emails, names and behaviour, is regulated. Under GDPR and similar laws you need a lawful basis to transfer it, and users usually need to be told. Your privacy policy matters, since many say data will only be transferred as part of a sale of the business.
The common approach is to transfer personal data only together with the product, so users keep using the same service under a new owner, and to notify them before the transfer. Selling a list of users on its own to an unrelated buyer is rarely lawful.
Packaging data for a buyer
Describe the data before you share any of it. A buyer wants to know what it covers, how it was collected, how current it is and what they are allowed to do with it. A short data sheet answers most of that.
- What the dataset contains and how many records
- How and when it was collected
- The legal basis and any restrictions on use
- A small anonymised sample
How data is priced
Data is worth what it would cost a buyer to collect themselves, and how much it improves their product. Unique, current datasets in a specialist niche command the best prices. Stale or easily gathered data is worth little.
Common questions
Can I sell user data after shutting down my startup?
Only with care. Personal data can usually only be transferred as part of selling the product, with a lawful basis and notice to users. Anonymised and aggregated data is much simpler to sell.
Can I sell internal datasets from a failed startup?
Yes, if the company owns them and they contain no personal data, or the personal data has been properly anonymised. Check any licences on data you bought in.
Who buys data from failed startups?
Companies in the same market who want to improve their product, researchers, and teams training AI models who need specialist data.