Congratulations... Having gone through a very similar situation I have to say it was the best decision I've made. I sold my first company for less then I could

Congratulations... Having gone through a very similar situation I have to say it was the best decision I've made. I sold my first company for less then I could have had if I would have taken the "chance" 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. Bottom line, for me is that financial security makes me sleep well at night. My original startup also gave me insight on what I loved to do in a startup and what I didn't love. I personally joined a startup as employee #1 and helped grow the company to where we are today.