Shutting Down a Startup? Don't Delete Your Slack Yet

If your company is shutting down, or already has, its Slack or Microsoft Teams history may be one of the last assets it can still turn into cash. AI training data buyers now pay companies for real workplace data. But that history gets deleted on a schedule once the subscription lapses, so the order you do things in matters.

Who buys company Slack data, and why

AI labs are training models to do real work: answer customer tickets, run projects, coordinate across teams. Public internet text doesn’t show how that work actually happens. Years of a real company’s conversations, docs and tickets do.

So a market has formed. Data companies buy workplace data from businesses, review and redact it, and supply it to AI labs. Some focus on companies that have shut down, because their data is no longer in daily use and the company may have few other assets left.

What buyers usually look for

Criteria differ by buyer. These are typical asks for shut-down companies:

• Size: 50 or more employees at the company’s peak. More people means more real collaboration in the data.
• Volume: a substantial Slack or Teams history, ideally several years.
• Language: mostly English.
• Rights: someone with authority over the company’s assets who can approve the sale.

Active companies can qualify too, typically with 30 to 200 employees and well-documented processes: SOPs, playbooks, knowledge bases, and project and CRM workflows.

Act before the history disappears

Neither Slack nor Microsoft keeps your history forever once you stop paying.

Slack

Free workspaces only show the last 90 days of messages and files. Since August 26, 2024, Slack may delete data older than one year from free workspaces on a rolling basis, and deleted data can’t be restored (Slack Help). If a paid workspace lapses to free, assume the same rules apply and act quickly.

Microsoft Teams (Microsoft 365)

An expired subscription moves through stages. For most business plans it stays usable for about 30 days, then admins get about 90 more days to back up data. Microsoft deletes customer data no more than 180 days after a subscription ends (Microsoft Support, Microsoft Learn).

Check who owns the data

The data belongs to the company, not to the founders personally. Before talking to buyers, find out who controls the company’s assets now. It may still be the founders or board. If the company was acquired, went through an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or filed for bankruptcy, it may be an acquirer, an assignee or a trustee. A buyer will ask, so it’s worth knowing early. This isn’t legal advice; talk to your lawyer about your situation.

What to do this week

1. Don’t delete the workspace or the Microsoft 365 tenant.
2. Check its status: is it still on a paid plan, and when does it lapse?
3. Keep admin access with someone who will still be reachable.
4. Ask buyers what format they need before exporting. Standard Slack exports may leave out private channels and direct messages.
5. Confirm who can approve a sale on the company’s behalf.