This only works in the BitCoin ASIC business with thousands of small unaware pre-order investors.
The day by day business in a normal ASIC start-up company developing a product financed by one big venture capitalist looks completely different. This investor sits in your neck all the time and wants to know what exactly you did day by day hour by hour and when he will make money with the product. And you have to answer him, otherwise he will go immediately away with his money.
Well, it depends. The chip may not be nearly as time-sensitive in nature as bitcoin ASICs are right now. You may have a finite deadline, and if you go past it you might lose a lot of money due to idle resources waiting on a critical path, whatever. But things can be adjusted and schedules can be changed.
With Bitcoin ASICs you're basically dead if you're a month late this year. Last year, it was completely different.
At the same time, though we need to remeber: Designing an ASIC isn't
that difficult. People build ASICs all the time for various purposes, and it usually works out OK. BFL, Avalon and other companies were building their first ever ASIC product. And in edition building and selling devices direct to consumers.
People who have experience doing these kinds of things, well, have experience doing these kinds of things. It shouldn't be nearly as difficult like a company like ORSoC, or Uniquify to build chips and have them work properly the first time.