<story><title>Why I Sold My Startup Instead Of Taking VC Money</title><url>http://www.builtinchicago.org/blog/why-i-sold-my-startup-instead-taking-vc-money</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>wrath</author><text>Congratulations... Having gone through a very similar situation I have to say it was the best decision I&apos;ve made.  I sold my first company for less then I could have had if I would have taken the &quot;chance&quot; of going the VC route... but what that enabled me to do (as you have mentioned) is to pay off my house and put a descent chunk of money aside.  Most importantly though, it gave me the freedom to try new things once I decided to leave the company that purchased us.  Instead of looking for a salary that would pay my mortgage, put food on our table, and pay my monthly expenses (e.g. 100k +), I could manage well on a salary of 35-40k.&lt;p&gt;Bottom line, for me is that financial security makes me sleep well at night.&lt;p&gt;My original startup also gave me insight on what I loved to do in a startup and what I didn&apos;t love.  I personally joined a startup as employee #1 and helped grow the company to where we are today.</text></comment>
<story><title>Why I Sold My Startup Instead Of Taking VC Money</title><url>http://www.builtinchicago.org/blog/why-i-sold-my-startup-instead-taking-vc-money</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>ChuckMcM</author><text>Thanks for this Ross. Its always an interesting choice (and its good to have a choice!) I recall when my CEO got an offer to buy the company in the late 90&apos;s and turned it down because he was fixated on going public. Even later it wasn&apos;t clear if that was the &apos;right&apos; financial choice or not, but as a VC funded company it really drove a wedge between him and the board. That was a really high price to pay.&lt;p&gt;You didn&apos;t mention the size of your team at the time of the sale, was it just you? You and a co-founder? How did they feel one way or the other about the choices?</text></comment>