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Ask HN: Where can I sell the software of a failed startup?

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Ask HN: Where can I sell the software of a failed startup?

#1
I was involved in a startup that failed. The startup was supposed to be a solution to ridesharing, let's say similar to Uber. We never launched but we developed a lot of code that represented at least a solid portion of the product.

Is there any marketplace where we can sell this code, and/or can anyone provide a ballpark range of what it might be worth?

Re: Ask HN: Where can I sell the software of a failed startup?

#3
post #2

https://flippa.com/ is in that space. P.S. prefixing the title with 'Ask HN:' gets you more exposure, the question will then go to https://news.ycombinator.com/ask

Thank for the link! I've updated the title but it doesn't seem to be getting picked up by /ask. I guess it has to say "Ask HN:" from the outset

Re: Ask HN: Where can I sell the software of a failed startup?

#5
post #4

You'll have a very hard time selling early-stage software. People tend to buy revenue streams and customer relationships, not web software. Specifically, there are lots of companies selling customizable Uber clones right now.

While the conversation gets traction, that seems a point well worth exploring.

Do you have any stories of valuable software that got a second life after startup death?

Re: Ask HN: Where can I sell the software of a failed startup?

#6
post #3
post #2

https://flippa.com/ is in that space. P.S. prefixing the title with 'Ask HN:' gets you more exposure, the question will then go to https://news.ycombinator.com/ask

Thank for the link! I've updated the title but it doesn't seem to be getting picked up by /ask. I guess it has to say "Ask HN:" from the outset

It is now

Re: Ask HN: Where can I sell the software of a failed startup?

#7
post #5
post #4

You'll have a very hard time selling early-stage software. People tend to buy revenue streams and customer relationships, not web software. Specifically, there are lots of companies selling customizable Uber clones right now.

While the conversation gets traction, that seems a point well worth exploring. Do you have any stories of valuable software that got a second life after startup death?

> Do you have any stories of valuable software that got a second life after startup death?

No, I don't. That's kind of my point. The only tech companies that get decent prices are high-tech (often technological breakthroughs). I've never heard of or seen a web app have a value above maybe $2k when it had no customer base, and even then, that $2,000 was tiny compared to the $100k+ that was invested to build it.