I second this. I've worked for several early stage HW start-ups (ASIC development). VC backed ones ended up in a weird state of not being able to move from proof of concept to production because at that point the VCs were out of patience and wanted returns for their money. Having spent 10s if millions and now, 2-3 years later, requiring even more didn't align with what they were used to. This ended badly for these companies, all with great potential. Lucky ones could get acquired for a meaningful amount.

Bootstrapped companies were much better but they lacked the capital to develop their own products, so they were often reliant on one big customer. Growth was slow but more organic.