Updated October 2026
Your previous company's data: what micro1's closed-company ads offer
If you once ran a company that has since closed, you may have seen micro1's ad about your previous company's data. From 2026-10-09 micro1 ran Meta and LinkedIn ads with the headline "Your previous company's data could be worth up to $2M". That figure is micro1's own ad claim. This page sets the ad beside what micro1 publishes on its own site and what closed-company data deals have been reported to pay.1
The ad
What micro1's closed-company ad says and who it is aimed at
The ads open with a question: "Did you run a company that's no longer operating?" They aim at US companies that had 25+ employees at their peak. The Meta versions lead to an Instant Form that asks 5 quick questions. Counting staff at the peak, rather than today, is the point: a company that has shut has nobody on payroll, so the ad measures the size it once reached.1
A second advertiser ran a close cousin of the ad from the same day. Data Specialists' Meta ads were headlined "Closed Your Business? Its Data Could Pay" and aimed at closed companies that had 50+ employees. Those ads link to a micro1 job-post address. That Data Specialists resells for micro1 is our inference; neither company has said so.2
| Fact | Value and source |
|---|---|
| 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 |
micro1's own pages
What micro1's website says, and what it leaves out
micro1's published pages describe a different seller. Its referral page asks for 30+ employees, and its Enterprise Data Partnership post describes companies of 30 to 200 employees. Neither page mentions closed companies. The ad and the website therefore do not set the same bar, and a former owner should ask which terms apply before typing anything into the form.3
micro1 also runs a payout estimator. It asks for employee count, years of data, the number of business entities, the share of data in English, the headquarters region, and whether the data includes regulated or sensitive information. micro1 says the estimate is indicative only. The list is still useful, because any buyer looking at old records will want the same answers.4
Realistic prices
What closed-company data has been reported to pay
The $2M is the top of an advertising claim, not a reported sale. SimpleClosure, a wind-down channel that publishes its deal count, reports 150+ data deals for wound-down startups, with a typical deal between $10K and $100K. That band is the better planning number for most former owners.1,5
Our reading: an owner who answers the ad expecting its headline figure and then receives a five-figure offer has not necessarily been treated badly. The offer may simply sit in the band where most closed-company deals have landed.5
Before you reply
What to gather before answering the five questions
First, find out what still exists from the previous company. Old email, Slack, shared drives and code repositories only have value while someone can open them. aitrainer.work notes that Slack, Google Workspace and GitHub organizations are deleted after non-payment and suggests asking support whether a lapsed workspace can be restored.6
Next, write down the headcount at the peak, the years the old records cover, and whether anything sensitive sits in them. Those are the inputs micro1's estimator asks for, so having them ready saves a round of back and forth.4
Last, work out who can act for a company that no longer operates. If it was dissolved, an administrator, a liquidator or whoever handled the dissolution may control what is left. That is a question for the licensing company, and it needs an answer before any export. aitrainer.work makes the same point: ask the administrator or liquidator, or whoever handled the dissolution, before listing anything.7
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
The ads ran on Meta and LinkedIn from 2026-10-09 and appear in Meta's Ad Library. The $2M is micro1's own ad claim about what a previous company's data could be worth, not a reported sale price.1
SimpleClosure, a wind-down channel that publishes its numbers, counts 150+ data deals so far, and the typical one paid between $10K and $100K. That is far below the ceiling in micro1's ad.5
An advertiser whose Meta ads from 2026-10-09 targeted closed companies that had 50+ employees. The ads point to a micro1 job-post address; that it resells for micro1 is our inference, not a stated fact.2
Possibly. aitrainer.work says Slack, Google Workspace and GitHub organizations get deleted after non-payment, and suggests asking support whether a lapsed workspace can still be restored.6
We do not answer legal questions. Ask the licensing company: their team reviews this with you before anything is signed.
We do not answer legal questions. Ask the licensing company: their team reviews this with you before anything is signed.
Before you sign
Legal questions go to the licensing company
We do not answer legal questions. Ask the licensing company before you sign: their team reviews these with you.
Questions for this kind of business
- Who can sign for a company that has been dissolved: a former director, a liquidator, or nobody?
- Does the closed-company offer in your ads carry the same terms as your published Enterprise Data Partnership?
- If a former owner submits your form, what has that owner agreed to on the company's behalf?
- Who owns this data: the company, an estate, or someone else?
- What are the trustee's, assignee's, receiver's or board's duties, and who receives the proceeds?
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?