BuyMyDeadStartup: how the listing site works
The short answer
BuyMyDeadStartup is a listing board where closed-startup founders describe code, Slack and email. It's free for sellers, takes no commission, and charges buyers $1,500 a month for access. The site holds no escrow and settles all terms between buyer and seller.
BuyMyDeadStartup has a Show HN post on Hacker News titled "Sell your IP to AI labs." In my search it was the only seller-intent item there, which tells you how new this corner is.
What does BuyMyDeadStartup do?
A founder submits a text description of what exists: Git repositories, issue trackers, Slack, company email, Drive and wikis, with rough sizes. The site says it uploads nothing and takes no custody of any data.
The site verifies the company email address and reads each listing by hand before publishing. Listings show the company and a contact address, with no individual names. Its sample listing is a placeholder with an example address.
What does it cost, and what does it say things are worth?
Listing is free, with no fee and no cut of a sale. Buyers pay $1,500 a month for access to every listing, which is how the site funds itself. The seller's asking price is optional, and a blank price reads "Open to offers."
Its worth section says companies have been paid $10,000 to $100,000 across roughly 100 reported deals in a year, and $100,000 or more for one company with 13 years of code, tickets and email. It credits Forbes. The Gizmodo report of that coverage says nearly 100 deals, so the site's "roughly 100+" runs a little above it.
Who runs it, and who carries the risk?
I found no legal entity, address or founder name on the site, and the contact is team@buymydeadstartup.com. The domain was registered in Aug 2026.
The site says it makes no claim about the legality or compliance of any transaction. It says price, terms, legal questions and privacy questions are handled between buyer and seller.
Slack messages and email contain other people's words, so the rights check lists what to confirm first. See also can a shutting-down company license its Slack to AI.
How does it compare with other options?
SimpleClosure manages the sale and scrubs the data, per its launch release. BuyMyDeadStartup says it takes no part in the sale. The options sit side by side in SimpleClosure alternatives.
Talk to a privacy or commercial lawyer in your state before you sign.
Our only referral relationship is with micro1, an AI data company. It may pay us a fee if a company we introduce goes ahead with it. You pay nothing extra. How we are paid
Vaultfish helps you run the process. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. If you need counsel who knows this area, we can point you to one. Ask for a referral
