I know this particular investor is exclusively SaaS, but isn't there a wider desire for hardware/science based startups? Or is it all just talk?
Other types of tech products are not as straightforward. Becomes more of a coin toss. Not that a SaaS is a safe investment.
And ultimately investors say they want hardware/science. But they don't really...?
Many investors, as a rule, won't even consider hardware and there are very few that specialize in hardware. It's a bit of a catch-22 with investors that say they want you to be different, because most of them really want you to be like everybody else. The majority are trying to ride the next wave, only a very small number are actually trying to find it independent of "signalling."
Every investor is different, every company is different, but if you're doing something unconventional you're probably going to have a very hard time. And now that Pebble has essentially failed, that's going to make investors a lot more wary about investing in consumer electronics.