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Starcycle vs Vetrix
Starcycle handles the paperwork of a US company shutdown, including filings and deadlines. It says pricing starts at $399, and state filing fees are extra. Vetrix pays you to license a de-identified copy of operational records. The filing and the license are separate contracts.
Up to $150K · $0 cost · 3 days
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| What they do | Starcycle handles the administrative paperwork of a company shutdown: a tailored action plan, key-date tracking, contract and subscription cancellation, document management, and state filings. It is not legal or tax advice. For legal or tax judgment, it works with a partner CPA or lawyer, or with yours. |
| Who it is for | Starcycle takes founders closing a company, whether or not the company took outside investment. A self-serve path is for a single-member LLC or a straightforward corporation, in one state, with no investors and no active contracts. A white-glove path is for a Delaware C-corp, a multi-state entity, investors, or active contracts. |
| Fee | Pricing starts at $399, and state filing fees are paid at the state's own rate. Companies with investors, several states, or active contracts get a quote for the white-glove tier. |
| Cost to the company | Pricing starts at $399. State filing fees are extra, at the state's own rate. A white-glove case, including investors, several states, or active contracts, is quoted. |
The names identify the services. We are not affiliated with them.
What Starcycle does and how it works
Starcycle handles the administrative paperwork of a company shutdown: a tailored action plan, key-date tracking, contract and subscription cancellation, document management, and state filings. It is not legal or tax advice. For legal or tax judgment, it works with a partner CPA or lawyer, or with yours.
Starcycle works with U.S. LLCs and corporations, and with a sole proprietor when there is an LLC. Key-date tracking covers all 50 states, and a multi-state plan includes withdrawals from states other than the home state.
A short intake covers entity type, states, and what is still running.
A straightforward case gets a quote and moves ahead. A complex case gets a dated action plan and a quote up front.
On the white-glove path, letters and filings are drafted, then a person reviews and approves them before they are sent.
The close is meant to leave no lingering franchise tax and no subscription still charging the card.
Starcycle says it can identify assets that still have value during a shutdown, including equipment, credits, intellectual property, data, and other operational assets, and match them to a buyer or partner. It describes that work as part of the same timeline as the filings, through a network of partners.
Vetrix's path is six steps. Vetrix runs steps 1 to 3 and stays with you through the rest.
- Tell us what you have.
- We confirm fit.
- We check your systems.
- You sign an NDA.
- You receive an offer.
- You sign, and get paid.
Read how company data licensing works for the step detail. Nothing is uploaded in the first step.
Starcycle finishes the job in its own description. A license is finished when you sign with the data partner and the copy is prepared. You can still be operating, winding down, or already closed, if you meet the staff and records rules.
Bring the question you actually have. If the question is the job Starcycle describes, stay with that service and read the fee. If the question is whether the records can be licensed while you still own them, that service does not answer it by itself. You want cash for a de-identified copy of the records, and the dissolution filing is a separate job.
Fees, cost, and where the money goes
Read Starcycle's fee as they state it, then read what a license costs the company. The two numbers are not the same kind of money.
| Question | Starcycle | Vetrix |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | Pricing starts at $399, and state filing fees are paid at the state's own rate. Companies with investors, several states, or active contracts get a quote for the white-glove tier. | $0 to the company |
| Cost if nothing closes | Pricing starts at $399. State filing fees are extra, at the state's own rate. A white-glove case, including investors, several states, or active contracts, is quoted. | $0 |
| Who is paid | Starcycle is paid its fee for the shutdown work. | You, up to $150,000 (US pricing, 250+ staff at peak). |
| What you give up | Starcycle does the administrative paperwork and works with partner CPAs and lawyers, or yours. If the company cannot pay its debts, an attorney decides between an assignment for the benefit of creditors and bankruptcy. Starcycle does not handle that work. | You give the data partner the right to use your records, with personal details removed, for AI research. The license is worldwide, permanent, and only for them. |
Use the fee Starcycle states on its own site, in the fee table. Read it as the cost of that service. It is not a payout for a license, and it is not what you pay Vetrix. A listing ad, a broker's commission, a shutdown invoice, and a license payout are different kinds of money. Match the bill to the job before you treat one number as the winner.
What Vetrix pays is not a success fee. The data partner pays Vetrix's fee, not you. If no agreement is signed, nobody pays anything. The amount depends on staff at peak and on the US pricing band. It is not a percent of a sale price, because there is no sale of the company.
Timing
Starcycle's clock is how long its own process can take. Vetrix's clock is a yes or no within 3 days, which is a fit decision, not a closing date.
How long a shutdown takes depends on the entity type, how many states the company is registered in, and which path you are on. Starcycle says you get a timeline as part of the plan.
A fit decision in 3 days does not mean the records are licensed that week. After a yes, there is a read-only check, an NDA with the data partner, an offer, and a signature. Those later steps take as long as the check and your lawyer need. They are not a promise that a buyer will appear.
Do not put the two clocks on one calendar and call the shorter one faster. A sale can be the right outcome and still take months. A license can be the wrong product even when the first answer is quick. Decide which clock you need: a buyer, or a decision on the records.
What you keep
Under a license you keep ownership of your data and full use of it in your business. You sign an NDA and the licensing agreement directly with the data partner, not with Vetrix.
Read what the company keeps under a data license before you treat the two offers as the same promise.
Read what is shared and never shared. Personal details are removed before a copy leaves.
Where Starcycle is a better fit
- You are closing a US LLC or corporation and you want the filings, deadlines, and contract cancellations handled.
- A straightforward single-state case can start from a quote. A case with investors, several states, or active contracts is quoted as white-glove work.
Use Starcycle when the job those points describe is the job you have. Do not force a license into a contract that does a different job.
Where licensing records fits
- You want cash for a de-identified copy of the records, and the dissolution filing is a separate job.
- You still control the records and you meet the staff and records rules.
The license fits when those conditions are true and the company meets the staff and records rules. It is not a substitute buyer, and it does not file a dissolution. You can estimate the payout before you start the check.
If you are weighing a broker, a shutdown, or a license, compare exit options for a company. If no buyer is in sight, read exit options when a company cannot be sold. If you are closing the company, read How a wind-down proceeds.
Using both
Starcycle handles shutdown paperwork and says it can match leftover assets, including data, to a buyer or partner. A Vetrix license is a separate contract from those filings.
You agree not to license the same records to anyone else. A later buyer of the company has to be told. You can pursue a sale and a license when the license does not hand the same records to someone else, and when the sale documents can live with that promise.
If the buyer will want those records exclusively, say so before you sign the license. If you only want the records licensed and you do not want a buyer, do not pay a listing fee while you wait for a sale you are not seeking.
Related
- Compare
Exit options compared: sell, broker, shut down, or license records.
- Selling a company
How to sell a failed startup, and the options when a company cannot be sold as a whole.
- Acquire.com vs Vetrix
Acquire.com lists a company for sale. Licensing the records is a separate choice.
- Acquisition.com vs Vetrix
Acquisition.com buys and partners with businesses. It is not the startup marketplace.
- License terms
The four license terms: what you give, keep, agree, and sign.
- What's shared
Which records can be licensed, which details never leave, and what you approve.
- Estimate
US payout bands by staff at peak, and the estimator that uses them.
Questions about Starcycle vs Vetrix
What price does Starcycle list for a shutdown?
Starcycle says pricing starts at $399, and state filing fees are paid at the state's own rate. Companies with investors, several states, or active contracts get a quote for the white-glove tier. A straightforward single-member LLC or corporation, in one state, with no investors and no active contracts, is the self-serve path that can get a quote without a call. The $399 starting price is Starcycle's fee. It is not the state fee, and it is not a license payout.
Does Starcycle say it covers every US state?
Starcycle says it works with US LLCs and corporations, and with a sole proprietor when there is an LLC. It says it only helps US companies shut down. Key-date tracking includes an automatic good-standing check across all 50 states, and a multi-state plan includes withdrawals from states other than the home state. That is coverage of US registrations, not a promise about companies formed outside the United States. Ask which states your company is actually registered in.
Does Starcycle describe selling or placing company data?
Starcycle's services page says a shutdown can include identifying assets that still have value, including equipment, credits, intellectual property, data, and other operational assets, and matching them to a buyer or partner. It says that work sits on the same timeline as the filings, through a network of partners. It does not name a separate data product with its own price. A Vetrix license is a different contract, with its own terms, and it is not part of the $399 starting price.
What does Starcycle say it will not handle?
Starcycle says it handles administrative paperwork, not legal or tax advice. For legal or tax judgment it works with a partner CPA or lawyer, or with yours. If the company cannot pay its debts, it says an attorney decides between an assignment for the benefit of creditors and bankruptcy, and Starcycle does not handle that work. A license of records also does not file a bankruptcy or an assignment. Those are separate decisions for your lawyer.
Sources
- Starcycle. Business Shutdown Services.
- Starcycle. Compare shutdown services.