I turned down a $1M acquisition offer because I wanted to own what I built

I’ve spent the last few years helping people grow their social media, monetize their content, and turn attention into real income. Creators, small businesses, service brands — once they figured out what the algorithm wanted, results followed. That work is what led to the offer in the first place.

The company I built from that experience is Viralize.

The $1M offer came because the product wasn’t just theory — it was already helping people grow and get monetized more consistently. Viralize uses AI to score content before it’s posted by analyzing hooks, retention likelihood, engagement signals, and algorithm alignment. It’s basically SEO logic applied to social media.

But I didn’t start this to sell it off early. I wanted to own the company and keep building something that actually helps creators and businesses win, not just feed another platform’s data pipeline.

Maybe I should’ve taken the money. A million dollars isn’t small. But I care more about the long-term impact than a fast exit. I want to see how far this goes if it’s built with creators in mind.