"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.

"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.