While Apple as Jobs and Woz hocking Apple I kits was started on almost no budget is true, Apple as an actual company was started with a $250K loan from Mike Markkula. Hardly a small budget when you consider those were 1976 dollars. Steve wanted to do big things, and he understood it took big dollars to do so.

I think the point of the OP boils down to: Steve (like Zuck now) wanted to build a company that changed the world, not build a company that he could flip.