The saga
of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, her revolutionary (but failed) blood testing
company, is a captivating one. While you may have read about it on the
Internet, or in news reports last summer, you should read the exposé, Bad Blood
by John Carreyrou and published last fall. It is rich with the full account as
it was revealed. Carreyrou was (and is) a reporter for the Wall Street Journal.
He was hungry for his next new journalistic journey, and a tip about Theranos
was just the ticket.
The story
of Theranos begins with Elizabeth at 19 – a college dropout – and a concept
that depended on all the stars aligning and the pieces of the puzzle falling
into place. Most importantly, however, science was required to work.
Detractors
have declared that the science was never there to begin with. That it was an absurd quest. Others question
if more years and engineering may develop the product that Elizabeth promised - a piece of medical equipment that can deliver
accurate results of over 1000 separate tests using only a fingerprick and one
drop of blood. Theranos bombed miserably, but not before duping investors and
the public.
For those of
us hungry for a tragic tale - one that includes billions of dollars and an
abundance of Silicon Valley garish living habits, the story does not
disappoint. And further, there are
continuing acts of trickery, meaningless investments, and the clandestine
romance of the two ambitious, vital players.
If you are
further intrigued, the HBO documentary, The Inventor – Out for Blood, is an
excellent way to watch Elizabeth Holmes in action. It is full of both stills
and video that explain some of Elizabeth’s appeal. More importantly, the
documentary is full of interviews and testimonies with the whistleblowers, the
detractors, and some of the people who finally began to suspect that Theranos
was essentially a house of cards ready to fall. (The HBO documentary is
available in several outlets; I found it offered free on a JetBlue flight. Be
assured that we will purchase the documentary when it is available on DVD.)
Some of Holmes’ charm (whether you find her alluring or not) is explained in
the video; at least it is obvious by the men who were beset with her.)
Another,
somewhat abridged version of the story is the fascinating six-episode (free)
podcast, The Dropout (produced by ABC Radio and ABC News Nightline.). It’s
under five hours of listening and rich with the voices involved in the scandal.
I listened to the podcast before reading the book; the book is a richer telling
of the Theranos tale. I described the podcast as abridged because there are
details in Carreyrou’s book that answered many of the questions I had that were
left unanswered by the podcast.
The
documentary and the podcast left me wanting more. There are hundreds of news
articles written about Theranos – both in the ascent of Elizabeth Holmes and in
her tragic downfall. In addition, there are short videos and teasers for the
documentary.
Many
people can’t wrap their head around the magic spell Elizabeth Holmes presented
or staged to enchant men like statesmen George Shultz and Henry Kissinger,
investors like the Walton (Walmart) family, Rupert Murdock, and Betsy DeVos,
and business partners like Walgreen’s. But she did. And easily. They were all
hopelessly smitten by the young woman, or by the recommendations of people in
high places. For a period of 14 years, Holmes managed to defraud millions of
dollars in investments for her Silicon Valley start-up, much of it from
Walgreen’s, the pharmacy “trusted since 1901.”
Some of
Elizabeth Holmes’ biographical history explains her rise to fame. She was
smart. She was pretty. She was ambitious. As a young child, Elizabeth was
attracted to both fame and fortune, and she dreamed of becoming recognized for
inventing something that would change the world. Some have suggested that her biggest
aspiration was to become a billionaire.
Those who
interacted with Elizabeth in the classroom or neighborhoods she lived in seemed
to be either dazzled or unimpressed by Elizabeth’s poise, composure, and can-do
attitude. She was enabled by a family who encouraged her and who had some
critical connections through their work and lifestyle. She lived in both
Washington, DC, and Houston and was afforded splendid opportunities such as
summer Mandarin language programs in China. She had no difficulty being
accepted to Stanford as a freshman in 2002. By 2004, at the age of nineteen,
she dropped out of college, mainly because she was spending more time
presenting her ideas to venture capitalists and to influential contacts and
wealthy families than she was spending time on her studies.
Elizabeth
amazingly succeeded in getting her advisor and the Dean of the School of
Engineering, Channing Robertson, to join her in her effort to “revolutionize
healthcare.” Other influential men in the heart of Silicon Valley, particularly
with ties to big money were also impressed, and they all helped her in her
spectacular rise. Of note, however, is that none of the investors and board
members influential in Holmes’ rise were engineers or scientists. Just like those who knew her as a child, not
everyone was charmed with Elizabeth or her company. She had detractors along
the way. Many Silicon Valley stars quickly left her company – and some became
whistleblowers. One became so disheartened that he took his own life.
The story
of Theranos is actually ongoing, although the company ceased to exist in 2018
after a three-year investigation by the SEC and others. Elizabeth, the woman
who yearned to be the next Steve Jobs, is facing criminal charges of up to 20
years in jail, along with her one-time lover, Ramesh (Sunny) Balwani. The real
tragic end may come later this summer after the trial is over.
