Interesting comment - care to elaborate on why Apple would have never been funded? Also, are you referring to the initial starting capital, or a later stage Apple?
A hardware startup ran by people with minimal experience in shipping hardware.
That doesn't mean much. An angel investor could have still liked the idea.
The thread is talking about VCs though.
have you ever tried raising money from an angel investor for a hardware startup?
because nobody would invest in a hippie with a half-finished hardware product these days
Sure they would. Apple wasn't a particularly special company when they were funded, new computer companies were a dime a dozen.
I disagree. It was a time when there wasn't much around to invest in and computers were "hot" and "new", and something everyone wanted to become a part of.