Selling business data to AI firms: the process from start to payment

micro1 and most others take a license to a copy for specified purposes, and your originals stay put. Polyshares calls its payment a single license fee, with no debt and no shareholding involved.

A minority buy outright; Sunset purchases the data of companies that have closed. Check which arrangement the contract describes.

1. 1Confirm eligibility. Buyers usually ask for 20 to 30 or more employees and a few years of records, though some set no floor.
2. 2Inventory your systems. Tools, years covered, approximate volume. micro1 calls this a data manifest and estimates 1 to 3 hours to prepare it.
3. 3Choose exclusions. Data you hold for clients, HR files and medical records are typical. According to Nyne's ads, sellers may exclude whichever folders they choose.
4. 4Pick a buyer or a broker. With a broker, find out who funds their fee. Jottings keeps 20 to 30% of the seller's payout; Pewter says its partner covers its fee.
5. 5Lock in the price. Several buyers say the figure is agreed in writing before files move.
6. 6Scrub and review. Personal details come out and you inspect samples; micro1 builds that review into its process.
7. 7Hand over and collect. Payment typically arrives 3 to 6 weeks after the contract is signed.

Plan in weeks. By buyers' own reckoning, a deal takes about one to two months from the first conversation to the money arriving. Your own part is small, roughly 1 to 3 hours on their estimates, and micro1 says an engineer may need up to 10 more hours to transfer files.

micro1, Ventra and Cognor Labs advertise ranges of about $100K to $2M for businesses still trading. Startups that have closed usually see $10K to $100K. Try our worth estimator for a ballpark based on your headcount and history.

Picture a landscaping firm with 22 staff and eight years of estimates, crew rosters and customer mail. It falls short of micro1's floor but clears the 20-person bar that Nyne and Handshake set, so it still has buyers to approach. Listing its systems and years is free and is the place to begin.