Updated October 2026
Closed company, counted at its peak: the headcount floors buyers use
The floors
How many people you needed at your peak
The bars run from 20 to 50 people at the peak. Pewter, which we work with, sets the lowest at 20+ full-time staff, for US firms with 3+ years of records that are winding down or already closed. Most other buyers that take closed companies set their bar a little higher.1,2,3
A few ask for 50 or more at the peak. If your company peaked at 20 to 49 people, those are not your buyers, but others may be.4,5
| Fact | Value and source |
|---|---|
| Pewter: who qualifies | US firms with 20+ full-time staff now or at peak, 3+ years of records, working mainly in English; operating, downsizing, winding down or closed |
| micro1's closed-company ads | From 2026-10-09 micro1 ran Meta and LinkedIn ads asking "Did you run a company that's no longer operating?" with the headline "Your previous company's data could be worth up to $2M", aimed at US companies that had 25+ employees at their peak |
| Data Specialists' closed-company ads | Data Specialists ran Meta ads from 2026-10-09 headlined "Closed Your Business? Its Data Could Pay", for closed companies that had 50+ employees |
| License My Data (broker) | Takes companies with 30+ employees and 2+ years, or closed companies with 50+ staff at their peak; shares commission per deal |
| Who can sell | Companies with 30+ employees, US first, mostly English data |
Operating floors
Why the usual size rules do not apply to you
Buyers that work with running businesses count the staff on payroll today. Most want 20 to 30 or more, and a few state no minimum. A closed company has no one on payroll, which is why the closed-company ads switch to the peak.6,7,8,9,10
If you are still winding down and some staff remain, count both. You may still clear a current-staff floor today, and you will not once the last people leave.
Why headcount
More people meant more written down
Headcount is a shortcut for how much your team wrote down. Sunset values a company by headcount, years in business, how much data there is and how the team used its tools, MIT Technology Review reports, and more people at the peak usually means more email, more channels and more tickets.11
It is only a shortcut. A thirty-person team that ran everything through Slack for years may have left more behind than a bigger team that worked by phone, so mention how your team worked when you talk to a buyer.
Counting
How to work out your company's peak
Use the records you still have: payroll reports, the old HR system, or the highest number of user accounts in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Note the month you hit the peak and how long you stayed near it, and keep the evidence, because a buyer may ask to see it.
Contractors are the grey area, so ask each buyer whether it counts accounts, people on payroll or people who wrote in the workspace. Years count too: Pewter wants 3+ years of records, and a company that ran for a decade should say so up front.1
Once you know your peak, the quiz takes it from there. It asks your peak headcount and what records survive, then introduces you to the buyers we work with that take a closed company of that size.
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
It stands in for how much was written down. MIT Technology Review reports that Sunset values assets by headcount, years in business, data volume and how the team used its tools.11
Every business is different, so this one is best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over it with you before anything is signed.
Before you sign
Questions to talk through with your buyer
Every business is different, so these are best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over them with you before anything is signed.
Questions for this kind of business
- If our headcount at the peak included contractors, does that change who has rights in the material they wrote?
- Who signs for the company now that it has no officers or staff?
- Who owns this data: the company, an estate, or someone else?
Questions for any buyer
- Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
- Can you sublicense the data, and to whom?
- Which AI labs will receive it, and will you tell us?
- How long do you keep it, and how is it deleted?
- What is your liability cap, and who indemnifies whom?
- Will the contract ban re-identification of people in the data?
- Who removes personal data, by what method, and do we approve it first?