4 ms·

Wait. They still had a workforce? What the heck are they working on? How are they still extant? The entire operation was revealed to be a world-historical fraud

by Bud 9y ago

Wait. They still had a workforce? What the heck are they working on? How are they still extant? The entire operation was revealed to be a world-historical fraud! How is this company still in operation on any level? I don't get it.

uniformlyrandom 9y ago
AFAIR, they have switched focus to some other bullshit idea called miniLab: > “We will return our undivided attention to our miniLab platform,” writes Holmes of the new device she unveiled in early August at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry’s convention in Philadelphia. She added that “our ultimate goal is to commercialize miniaturized, automated laboratories capable of small-volume sample testing, with an emphasis on vulnerable patient populations, including oncology, pediatrics, and intensive care.” http://fortune.com/2016/10/05/theranos-shuts-down-clinics/ http://fortune.com/2016/10/05/theranos-shuts-down-clinics/
- blhack 9y ago
  What's the opposite of "nobody every got fired for choosing IBM"? This woman needs to steer far, far away from anything in the medical field for a LONG time. If she does end up back in that field, she needs to be way behind the scenes. Not presenting at a conference.
  - jcadam 9y ago
    I can't imagine anyone entrusting this person with anything ever again, particularly a position of leadership. Though, the cynic in me is sure she'll be showered with funding the next time she deigns to start a new venture.
    - rrdharan 9y ago
      Pretty sure she can easily get a book deal and find a second career as a motivational speaker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Belfort https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Belfort
      - khhh35575544 9y ago
        Ellen Pao also
        PascLeRasc 9y ago
        Ellen Pao was an excellent CEO. The subs she got rid of were hateful and she didn't believe in editing comments. The current CEO won't ban subs inciting violence and instead gets rid of peaceful ones trading individual bottles of beer.
  - rdtsc 9y ago
    > This woman needs to steer far, far away from anything in the medical field for a LONG time. Sadly I think she would do great in the field. "Oh look she managed to raise all this money and start a company based on bogus results. We clearly need her on our team. She can deliver!". I guess it depends how you view the field and their ethics and business perspective.
    - saagarjha 9y ago
      Would you want the bad PR from having someone like Elizabeth Holmes related to your company?
      - jacquesm 9y ago
        It was observed long ago that there is no such thing as bad publicity. It may not be quite that black-and-white but there is definitely some truth to it.
  - Bud 9y ago
    She's actually banned from being an officer of ANY company. Associated Press, March 14, 2018: "Under an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Holmes is barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years. The SEC said it will pursue its case against the president of the company, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, in federal district court in the Northern District of California."
    - dragonwriter 9y ago
      > She's actually banned from being an officer of ANY company. Any public company.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
vkou 9y ago
They were doing fake it till you make it[1] - deceiving investors and their customers, while making a hail Mary R&D play at trying to make their technology work. [1] Just to be clear, 'fake it till you make it' does not require deception. If you're up front about what you're doing with the people paying you, and are following the law, there is nothing wrong with doing things that don't scale.
oh_sigh 9y ago
Are any patents they hold licensable? Just because they committed fraud and couldn't get their product to actually work doesn't mean the patents are worthless.
Florin_Andrei 9y ago
This is the end of the end for Theranos.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
username223 9y ago
Someone needs to auction off the remaining office furniture and lab equipment, and renegotiate the lease. If they had thousands of employees at their peak, a couple of dozen seems reasonable.
- kale 9y ago
  My understanding is that Lehman Brothers still has a few employees left. Mainly to sort through the mess of paperwork left behind. Here's an article from 2013 where they still had employees working on liquidating the assets. [1]: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lehman-fiveyear-people/you-work-for-lehman-i-thought-that-went-bust-idUKBRE98D0D720130914 https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lehman-fiveyear-people/you...

by Bud 9y ago

uniformlyrandom 9y ago

AFAIR, they have switched focus to some other bullshit idea called miniLab: > “We will return our undivided attention to our miniLab platform,” writes Holmes of the new device she unveiled in early August at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry’s convention in Philadelphia. She added that “our ultimate goal is to commercialize miniaturized, automated laboratories capable of small-volume sample testing, with an emphasis on vulnerable patient populations, including oncology, pediatrics, and intensive care.” http://fortune.com/2016/10/05/theranos-shuts-down-clinics/ http://fortune.com/2016/10/05/theranos-shuts-down-clinics/

blhack 9y ago
What's the opposite of "nobody every got fired for choosing IBM"? This woman needs to steer far, far away from anything in the medical field for a LONG time. If she does end up back in that field, she needs to be way behind the scenes. Not presenting at a conference.
- jcadam 9y ago
  I can't imagine anyone entrusting this person with anything ever again, particularly a position of leadership. Though, the cynic in me is sure she'll be showered with funding the next time she deigns to start a new venture.
  - rrdharan 9y ago
    Pretty sure she can easily get a book deal and find a second career as a motivational speaker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Belfort https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Belfort
    - khhh35575544 9y ago
      Ellen Pao also
      - PascLeRasc 9y ago
        Ellen Pao was an excellent CEO. The subs she got rid of were hateful and she didn't believe in editing comments. The current CEO won't ban subs inciting violence and instead gets rid of peaceful ones trading individual bottles of beer.
- rdtsc 9y ago
  > This woman needs to steer far, far away from anything in the medical field for a LONG time. Sadly I think she would do great in the field. "Oh look she managed to raise all this money and start a company based on bogus results. We clearly need her on our team. She can deliver!". I guess it depends how you view the field and their ethics and business perspective.
  - saagarjha 9y ago
    Would you want the bad PR from having someone like Elizabeth Holmes related to your company?
    - jacquesm 9y ago
      It was observed long ago that there is no such thing as bad publicity. It may not be quite that black-and-white but there is definitely some truth to it.
- Bud 9y ago
  She's actually banned from being an officer of ANY company. Associated Press, March 14, 2018: "Under an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Holmes is barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years. The SEC said it will pursue its case against the president of the company, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, in federal district court in the Northern District of California."
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    > She's actually banned from being an officer of ANY company. Any public company.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]

vkou 9y ago

They were doing fake it till you make it[1] - deceiving investors and their customers, while making a hail Mary R&D play at trying to make their technology work. [1] Just to be clear, 'fake it till you make it' does not require deception. If you're up front about what you're doing with the people paying you, and are following the law, there is nothing wrong with doing things that don't scale.

oh_sigh 9y ago

Are any patents they hold licensable? Just because they committed fraud and couldn't get their product to actually work doesn't mean the patents are worthless.

Florin_Andrei 9y ago

This is the end of the end for Theranos.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

username223 9y ago

Someone needs to auction off the remaining office furniture and lab equipment, and renegotiate the lease. If they had thousands of employees at their peak, a couple of dozen seems reasonable.

kale 9y ago
My understanding is that Lehman Brothers still has a few employees left. Mainly to sort through the mess of paperwork left behind. Here's an article from 2013 where they still had employees working on liquidating the assets. [1]: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lehman-fiveyear-people/you-work-for-lehman-i-thought-that-went-bust-idUKBRE98D0D720130914 https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lehman-fiveyear-people/you...