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How to Get Funding? Act Like You Don't Need It

Vungle, a mobile advertising startup, makes trailers for apps and had investors fighting get in on the action.

learn more about Gwen Moran

By Gwen Moran

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Here's one way to raise more money in a seed round: Say, "No thanks." That's what Zain Jaffer and Jack Smith, founders of the Vungle mobile ad platform, did when a bevy of heavyweight investors clamored to get a piece of their company as it exited the hot San Francisco incubator AngelPad.

The two say they weren't initially interested in securing funding; they didn't want to deal with the pressure of fighting for control with investors. But as tech luminaries like Google Ventures, AOL Ventures, Crosslink Capital and angel investors SoftTech VC, SV Angel, 500 Startups and Tim Draper started knocking on their door, it was tough to turn down the cash. They closed on $2 million in January.

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