VC/exponential growth increase risk of exploding the whole company.

In alternative reality:

1. They could hire way less aggressive and stay lean. Product development will be much slower, but they can operate cash flow positive.

2. With Kickstarter/pre-orders they could avoid taking any serious VC funding.

3. They probably need to move less expensive region than SF Bay Area. SF is great for go big or go home, but not an ideal place for long-term sustainable business.

4. Probably the price of watches would be higher and they will be niche, but still there are tons of watch manufactures that survived decades.