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This is actually pretty complicated and messy. A founder's email address is still tied to a lot of accounts. Either as a login, or the contact email address, o

This is actually pretty complicated and messy. A founder's email address is still tied to a lot of accounts. Either as a login, or the contact email address, or the password reset email address. Sometimes you can't disassociate the email address with the account. People who missed the memo about them leaving reach out to that email address looking for the founder/executive, and instead they reach someone who no longer works there. If you're using something like Google Docs, a founder who retains their email address still has access to virtually all of the most important company documents - OR someone has to go through every document and manually remove them (but not even that will get them all). If the founder leaves on good terms, it seems like not a big deal, but it ends up being a huge liability. [I'm on the board of a non-profit who just switched executive directors, and we had to have a big discussion about this.]

mooreds 9y ago
Well, I spent a lot of time before the founder departed making sure that all accounts were tied to a generic alias (admin@... or something similar). This is good practice whether or not the account is kept open, because if you close the account and then the password reset email bounces, what then? If you convert a google account to an alias, you can solve the google doc issue (delete the account, which lets you transfer all the docs to another google account, then set up the alias). Good point about missing the memo, but that could happen even if there was no email setup. But I appreciate the comment and it does shed some light on the complexities of this. I still think it'd be worth it. I'm sure it is bittersweet/complex for the departing founder as well--they get to continue to have folks email them at the same address they've had for years, but every email they receive is a reminder of the company they've left.
- zacharycohn 9y ago
  "if you close the account and then the password reset email bounces, what then?" You don't close the account - you have it forward all email to someone else. "Good point about missing the memo, but that could happen even if there was no email setup." You set up an auto-responder. "Hey! I'm no longer with XYZ. If you are trying to reach a founder/the CEO, hit up abc@xyz.com. If you'd like to reach me for things unrelated to XYZ, email me at me@personalemail.com Everyone has to make their own call, of course. I think the biggest factor is how long the organization has been around and (somewhat related) the complexity of the org. Is it a 3 employee person shop that's been around for a year? Not as big of a deal. Is it a 40 person company that's been around for 10 years? Way more complex, way more things that could go wrong. "I'm sure it is bittersweet/complex for the departing founder as well--they get to continue to have folks email them at the same address they've had for years, but every email they receive is a reminder of the company they've left." You're also asking them to do free work. They now can't take a vacation from email without worrying they got an urgent email from a customer that was meant for the CEO... but went to them instead. If they're off email for a week, that could be catastrophic for a business relationship. By letting them keep their email, you're asking them to be on-call for you... forever. By taking their email away, you're relieving them of that responsibility and letting them move on with their life.

mooreds 9y ago

Well, I spent a lot of time before the founder departed making sure that all accounts were tied to a generic alias (admin@... or something similar). This is good practice whether or not the account is kept open, because if you close the account and then the password reset email bounces, what then? If you convert a google account to an alias, you can solve the google doc issue (delete the account, which lets you transfer all the docs to another google account, then set up the alias). Good point about missing the memo, but that could happen even if there was no email setup. But I appreciate the comment and it does shed some light on the complexities of this. I still think it'd be worth it. I'm sure it is bittersweet/complex for the departing founder as well--they get to continue to have folks email them at the same address they've had for years, but every email they receive is a reminder of the company they've left.

zacharycohn 9y ago
"if you close the account and then the password reset email bounces, what then?" You don't close the account - you have it forward all email to someone else. "Good point about missing the memo, but that could happen even if there was no email setup." You set up an auto-responder. "Hey! I'm no longer with XYZ. If you are trying to reach a founder/the CEO, hit up abc@xyz.com. If you'd like to reach me for things unrelated to XYZ, email me at me@personalemail.com Everyone has to make their own call, of course. I think the biggest factor is how long the organization has been around and (somewhat related) the complexity of the org. Is it a 3 employee person shop that's been around for a year? Not as big of a deal. Is it a 40 person company that's been around for 10 years? Way more complex, way more things that could go wrong. "I'm sure it is bittersweet/complex for the departing founder as well--they get to continue to have folks email them at the same address they've had for years, but every email they receive is a reminder of the company they've left." You're also asking them to do free work. They now can't take a vacation from email without worrying they got an urgent email from a customer that was meant for the CEO... but went to them instead. If they're off email for a week, that could be catastrophic for a business relationship. By letting them keep their email, you're asking them to be on-call for you... forever. By taking their email away, you're relieving them of that responsibility and letting them move on with their life.