Having a functioning prototype that is good enough to sell is a massive hedge against failure. Even if the company flops, the tech is going to be worth _somethi

Having a functioning prototype that is good enough to sell is a massive hedge against failure. Even if the company flops, the tech is going to be worth _something_ substantial. This is in contrast to a device that exists on paper only: concepts are useful, and engineering has value, but without an physical device there are a lot of reality checks left. It's the hardware equivalent of ideas are cheap, but implementations are where real value lies.