SensAble Technologies interview questions

I was first contacted through email by the SensAble VP of Engineering, after I was recommended by a former colleague of mine who worked there. We scheduled an interview for a few days later. The interview process started in the morning and lasted into the early afternoon. It consisted of multiple 1 on 1 interviews with individuals in different roles, including QA manager, potential QA co-workers, customer support rep, and VP of engineering. The QA manager indicated to me that the interviewers he'd spoken to had a positive impression of me. Later that afternoon, I received an email asking for references and giving me positive feedback, including the sentiment that they'd "like to get me in there" provided that references and terms were agreeable. I sent a link to my references and we set up a time to discuss compensation over the phone the following Monday. On Monday, we discussed the compensation range I had earned in my previous job. The VP of Eng. said that he thought they could offer something approaching my previous salary, but that he needed to check with some people and would call me back the next day. Two days later I hadn't heard back, so I sent email to the VP asking when he'd have a chance to continue our conversation. He emailed me the next day and asked if I could come in the following morning to "come see the CEO/CFO and close on terms". The next morning I arrived and discovered that we were not just closing on terms, but underwent a second battery of interviews with several software engineers, in addition to the CFO and CEO. The topic of salary came up again in discussion with the VP and we each mentioned target salaries that were only a few thousand dollars apart. He said he would check on the final number they could offer and get back to me later that day. He promised that an offer would be forthcoming, but was unsure of the amount at that time. I received a follow-up email that said "We are very excited and want to bring you on board" but that the person they needed to consult with about salary had left early and he'd get back in touch on the next business day (Monday). On Monday, I received a brief email stating that after discussions, they didn't think they could support my salary figure and so wouldn't be making an offer after all. This caught me by surprise, because I had never stated any exact figure that would be the minimum acceptable for me. I replied asking whether they would be willing to make any offer, but they would not, explaining that they felt we were too far apart. Overall, this wasn't a positive experience for me because they effectively promised an offer, then went back on their word. If they felt I wasn't a fit for the position I had no problem with them telling me that, but it was just the misrepresentation that I had a problem with. I feel that they don't have a good handle on the hiring process, in that they begin the search for experienced personnel before knowing whether they have the go-ahead to budget for it. Too bad, because this company makes some really cool software and hardware.