Theranos/Elizabeth Holmes Trial

[doodah]

Was hoping there would be an old thread on this I could bump.

A story I have been following for years. Elizabeth Holmes was a Silicon Valley darling, one of the youngest self-made billionaires, comparisons to Steve Jobs, turtle neck jumpers and a killer product. A blood test that could provide results for all sort of conditions from just a ***** of blood. Only problem was it was all BS, they outsourced the majority of work and she covered it up.

She was so successful in getting people on board, she had several former US cabinet members on the board or as investors. A key witness, Tyler Shultz, became a whistle blower. Only problem was Holmes went after his jugular to keep a lid on things, his grandfather I believe was on the board and didn't believe his own grandson when he uncovered it all.

She's going with the 'I was new to this, easily misguided, high pressure' defence, whilst pinning it all on her ex business partner (and lover) - Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. IMO she as guilty as they get, it wasn't just not delivering but the extensive cover up and attempt to ruin other people's lives that really grates me.

Any way, thought I would share as big trials go - this should be a good'n.

 

[dlockers]

Wasn't there a great book on this?

Edit: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Blood-Secrets-Silicon-Startup/dp/152473165X

 

[BowdonUK]

I've been following this for a while too.

It seems to have taken it years to get to court.

 

[Raymond Lin]

If she wants to take the spotlight and credit when things are going well then she can take all the responsibilities when the poo hits the fan.

 

[booyaka]

Book was riveting when I read it a few years ago.....

Unreal - sounded almost made up at the time that she convinced so many people about the product/company etc - very much "fake it until you make it"

I think by the time numerous witnesses are on the stand (rumored to be up to 200 people taking the stand) - I suspect it will come out that her current defence is on very shaky ground.

Possible witness include:

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
Former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis
Former US Secretary of Defense William Perry
Former Wells Fargo CEO Richard Kovacevich

All board members of Theranos

 

[danoliver1]

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

For the last eight years I have worked in start-up land in the UK. I am always surprised by what investors consider adequate Due Diligence. They want to be on the runners that win, and they want it to get to the market early to maximise the winnings. In my experience they would get stung a lot less if they spent more time understanding what the tech can actually do before setting the business bods loose on it. Of course, when the tech delivers they risk winning less due to a longer time to market. I am not sure how sympathetic I am to investors who don't dig beyond the assertions of the team.

 

[reflux]

Wasn't there a great book on this?

Edit: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Blood-Secrets-Silicon-Startup/dp/152473165X

Fantastic book and extremely gripping. My copy's been through three people so far and everyone has found it fascinating. Well worth a read.

 

[doodah]

Not sure how her defence is going to work, Tyler Shultz alone should be enough to torpedo her and am sure there is all sorts of evidence she knew the product was naff.

Edit - doh!

Elizabeth Holmes trial delayed as juror tested for COVID.

 

[peterwalkley]

Ars Technica has quite a good write-up on it: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...-a-crime-theranos-founders-lawyers-tell-jury/

Its going to be a bit of a soap opera.

 

[fez]

This will be fascinating because nothing I have heard suggests that she was anything but completely complicit in the con and the ringleader. She should go to jail for a long time.

Fascinating story and shines a bit of a spotlight on how much of investing is made purely on emotions and FOMO. This should have been nipped in the bud very quickly and the con was obvious to anyone who dug into it at all and yet because of the big names she had backing her the usual scrutiny didn't happen.

 

[fez]

Ars Technica has quite a good write-up on it: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...-a-crime-theranos-founders-lawyers-tell-jury/

"Your honour, failure is not a crime. I did not make off with the £3m I had hoped to steal from the bank as the police stopped me. Therefore you must acquit."

 

[hurfdurf]

Absolutely fascinating story, I’m looking forward to the developments.

It’s also interesting who fell victim to her and who saw through it, same with Madoff.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I will look forward to the movie, David Fincher has to make it.

 

[jsmoke]

All these silicon valley darlings are full of crap including Bill Gates, Steve Kobs etc. They usually take the glory for some unknown programmer or scientist who comes up with all the novel ideas. They just learn a script for when on camera.

 

[potatolord]

The Econmist had an article on it this week.

Which generally means a bbc article next week...

 

[Raymond Lin]

All these silicon valley darlings are full of crap including Bill Gates, Steve Kobs etc. They usually take the glory for some unknown programmer or scientist who comes up with all the novel ideas. They just learn a script for when on camera.

Bill Gates actually can code and he did.

https://www.computerworld.com/artic...-microsoft-basic-for-6502-comes-to-light.html

Apple almost went bankrupt after Jobs left first time round, when he came back the company had a massive turnaround in fortune. (I acknowledge Job is not a nice person in his role in case you want to bring that up.) It's Jony Ive who had most of the good ideas and he got really rich, he also was on the spotlight a lot, in a lot of the videos and keynotes AND he got knighted for it. What's that if not glory?

Also, the point of the guy at the top isn't to sit at the computer coding, that is a TERRIBLE WASTE of money, it's to steer the company and run the company. It takes a different set of skills, it's not about sitting in a lab trying to figure out how to code how fast the beach ball spins. It's about running the company.

 

[dowie]

LOL I wonder if she's going to drop the deep voice and go for a very feminine one now she's no longer trying LARP as some "girl boss" version of Steve Jobs. Now it's more like:

"I'm just a smol little girl hehe, I was manipulated by this much older evil man, he "gaslighted" poor little me, it was all his fault, I don't know about this finance stuff, defrauding investors? Oh, gosh, that's all him."

 

[Freddie1980]

She's probably the most famous face of #girlboss era that sprung around 2014/2015. Just another con artist that the media and certain public faces were fawning over and like to shove down everyone's throats every now and then (these days its Elon 'Corporate Welfare' Musk).

 

[Diddums]

If you want to watch a vid that's not made by an arrogant, smug, self serving idiot with too much time on his hands, try this one:

It's fascinating stuff, she nailed her craft down to every last detail, faking her voice, even wearing a polo neck to look like a "tech superstar" like Steve Jobs. What this woman did was wrong, but I respect the lengths she went to to achieve it, and who she took down along the way.