I just finished John Carreyrou’s “Bad Blood,” a 2018 book based on his reporting that shattered the illusions of investors about the one-time Silicon Valley startup, Theranos.
I found a hardcover copy in a church thrift shop in San Mateo on our last trip to California. I believe that I paid $1. What a bargain!
The book is really in two parts. In the first part, he tells of the company’s inception and growth, propelled by the personality of its founder, a young Stanford drop-out who sold her vision of leading a revolution in medical care with a miniature blood testing machine that would make blood tests as simple as taking a drop or two from a finger tip. The tale he tells was pieced together from interviews with more than 150 people, including dozens of former employees and their associates, as well as documents such as emails, records from regulators and court files.
The second part of the book picks up his first person account from the time that he received a tip with allegations of fraud behind the scenes of the secretive firm.
The book ends when the company’s founder was barred by regulators from holding any position for an extended period, investors went to court in efforts to recover hundreds of millions of dollars, and criminal charges were expected.
It’s a rather chilling tale showing how greed can undermine all the systems that are supposed to protect the public. And it’s a good example of how investigative reporting can provide a counterweight when other systems have failed.
Now I’m ready to watch the HBO documentary, ‘The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley.”
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I read it too. Excellent quick and easy read. It’s a sad tale of people who refuse to admit they’ve been completely suckered, even when all evidence shows it.
George Shultz, aka Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of State, was a member of the board of directors of Theranos. His grandson Tyler was a whistleblower that exposed Theranos.
George refused to listen to his own grandson, even when it was painfully obvious Theranos was a scam. He refused to admit he had been conned. It’s literally the same as arguing with a believer about Jesus. Or Trump. Or Sarah Palin. Or the Pope. Or a statute of gold. Or a wonder herbal medicine. Take your pick. Meanwhile, the grandson refused to shut up. Game over.
Theranos was more like a religion than a business. It sucked in a retired US Secretary of State.
Never let people push you into silence. Especially family.
It is amazing, and given the medical implications very scary, that Elizabeth Holmes was able to get so far with her fraud. It also points out the importance whistleblowers play. Just imagine where we’d be if Tyler Schultz (yes, related to U.S. Sec. of State George P. Schultz, who happened to be a director of Theranos) had not stepped forward.
Elizabeth Holmes was California’s counterpart to K.Kealoha. A particular mindset is in certain people who can take unsuspecting folks to the financial cleaners without so much as any concept of wrong-doing.
She was a “gifted” millennial with all the right educational credentials, private prep school, and Stanford. She developed the concept in the “garden of her mind” (Fred Rogers) and intensely believed it. So much so, she abandoned any moral principals she may have had.
The fantastic thing is the Palo Alto investment bankers took it in hook line and sinker. Afterall she was “one of them” with a similar pedigree. The fact that she was 5’7″, blonde, blue-eyed (or was it green) and could talk the talk had a “little” bearing on it.
Don’t forget the ubiquitous black turtlenecks. So necessary to be taken seriously in SV.
She was related to Mona hind who married Chris Holmes of coconut island fame