"That just means some other VCs would have invested instead."
I would say that would have worked if you wanted to build a software company. This was early 2001, the entire Tech bubble had just collapsed. It isn't very easy to find venture capital when you need tens of millions of dollars to afford world-class lasers, electronics and clean rooms. The scale and ambition of the project constrain you because there aren't many sources of venture capital of that magnitude.
I don't have long hair, but I wouldn't want to work for a company who had a policy against it either. Such a policy would only make it clear that the company had the wrong values and priorities.
I would say that would have worked if you wanted to build a software company. This was early 2001, the entire Tech bubble had just collapsed. It isn't very easy to find venture capital when you need tens of millions of dollars to afford world-class lasers, electronics and clean rooms. The scale and ambition of the project constrain you because there aren't many sources of venture capital of that magnitude.
I don't have long hair, but I wouldn't want to work for a company who had a policy against it either. Such a policy would only make it clear that the company had the wrong values and priorities.