They also might think about 'lending', or 'transferring' some of their hardware that never gets to fly to another private space- company, if one of them goes belly-up.
Many of the 'private' companies involves in the X-Prize contest
will go 'belly-up' in the next two years.
What will they do with their hardware [complete, or half-complete]?
Send it to the wrecking ball?...No!...Transfer it to a competitor who may salvage or canibalize parts for their benefit.
It's a hard pill to swallow, but it should be swallowed...

I'll give you a factual 19'th century analogy: Two aviation pioneers, one
Englishman, one Frenchman; one working on heavier-than-air flight,
one on an airship, probably knew of each other's efforts.
The Englishman [John Stringfellow] built a successful 25HP steam-engine
in the 1840's that was way-too heavy [half-a-ton?] for his proposed winged flying-machine...Even an asbestos-lined fire-box, instead of brick, would have only reduced the weight to maybe 1/4 ton; STILL TOO
HEAVY for a winged flying-machine....
But John Stringfellows' 25HP steam-engine would have been GREAT
for Henri Giffard's 2'd airship (built in 1853-1854) assuming the steam-engine could have been modified to burn whale-oil instead
of coal [with its' dangers of coal-dust, flying sparks].
As it was, Henri Giffard's two airships [One successful (Sept/1852),
the second was wrecked] both used an underpowered 3 HP steam-engine.
What Henri-Giffard could have accomplished with a 25HP steam-engine on his 2'd airship in 1854! Yes! He would have had to use expensive hydrogen instead of coal-gas as a lifting agent. He would had to make his 2'd airship semirigid with bamboo [no aluminum available] and whale-oil instead of coal for safe fuel.
But he could have reached a speed of 24km/hr [15mph] and flown
50 miles [80km] under ideal conditions...He would have shown the airship to be promising technology in 1854. The French navy/army could have had its interest piqued.
Unfortunately, Henri Giffard got NO COOPERATION from John Stringfellow
or others. there's a lesson there for this century and private space-efforts.

Jacob