> I had a couple of people/companies ask to buy it and a few more wanting to advertise in it.

I'm sure it depends on the size of your readership, but in my experience these kind of offers are a drop in the bucket compared to the salary of an expert programmer - let alone someone who's had their company acquired.

I also felt that, just like you recognise that the blog boosted the reputation of your startup, that if a blog with my name on it started pushing snake-oil product or making sketchy SEO posts, that would have the reverse effect.

I'd leave it exactly as it is. If you want to pick it up again in a few years time, you can.

Yes, it was actually what got us the initial waves of high volume/quality signups to our product, so it was indeed important for the company.