Buyers that protect customers and teams.
Most founders care what happens to the people who rely on their product. Here is how to check a buyer’s plans for customers, support and the team.
Contents8.1Which buyers protect customers?1 / 4
§ 8.1
Which buyers protect customers?The ones with a plan you can read.
A buyer protects customers when it plans to keep the product running, keeps support responsive and changes prices only with evidence. The best sign is a written transition plan with specific commitments.
- Customer continuity is agreed before ownership changes.
- Support and reliability come before new features.
- Price changes are tested and measured, not assumed.
§ 8.2
What to ask.Five areas.
- Area 1
Product
Will the product keep its name, its features and its accounts? What closes, and when?
- Area 2
Prices
Are price changes planned? How will existing customers be treated?
- Area 3
Support
Who answers customers after the handover, and how fast?
- Area 4
Data
Where does customer data go, and under which terms?
- Area 5
People
What happens to the people who work on the product today?
§ 8.3
Our commitments.From the founder questions on this site.
We protect the product they depend on. We agree customer continuity before ownership changes, and we improve reliability, clarity and support before we add complexity.
We do not want an acquisition that depends on an immediate rewrite or unsupported price increases. We agree the role of each person who works on the product in the transition plan, before ownership changes.
§ 8.4
Founder questions.Short answers.
Should I tell customers about a sale?
Usually after it closes, with the new owner. Agree the message and the timing in the transition plan.
What if my business has no team?
Then continuity depends on knowledge transfer. Document how the product is deployed, supported and billed.
Can a buyer promise to keep everything the same?
Be careful with that promise. Every product needs some change. A specific plan is more useful than a general promise.
- 1This guide is general information. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Talk to your own advisers before you sign anything. ↩
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