Amazing story about Halted Specialties, a surplus electronics store in Silicon Valley. -New York Times

In fact, Apple’s co-founders, Steven P. Jobs and Stephen Wozniak, shopped at Halted, hunting down parts for their first products. During one of these visits, Hal Elzig, who founded Halted and died in 2005, turned down an offer to invest in what would become Apple.

“Hal remembered them driving around barefoot in a Volkswagen van,” Mr. Ellingson said. “They were a couple of young, scruffy-looking guys. He said, ‘I don’t want to give these guys any money.’ ”