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> “Why is [Theranos] worthless? It’s worthless because this writer was like a badger going after her, like a hyena going after her, and then it became a bigger
by colmvp 8y ago
> “Why is [Theranos] worthless? It’s worthless because this writer was like a badger going after her, like a hyena going after her, and then it became a bigger and bigger thing,” he said. “She got bullied into submission,” Draper explained, adding that if it weren’t for Carreyrou and other opponents, Theranos “could have been one of these big, huge winners.”
And we would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for that meddling journalist!!! shakes fist in the air
- arcticfox 8y agoTim clearly has some screws loose. I just learned today that he has a fabulously wealthy father; that explains a lot.
- adventured 8y agoHis father was one of the earliest of the modern venture capitalists. And among the first in California, circa 1959 (just two years after the founding of Fairchild Semi). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Draper_III https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Draper_III
- cowsandmilk 8y ago> And among the first in California, circa 1959 His grandfather founded the venture capital firm in 1959. His father was an associate that joined at the time of the founding.
- sarreph 8y agoWhile it's clear that the vast majority of us do not agree with Draper's comments here, let's not attempt to discredit someone based on their (wealthy or otherwise) financial background.
- twic 8y agoI took this to mean something like "that explains how he has been able to become and continue to be a high-profile venture capitalist despite having a screw loose", rather than "that explains why he has a screw loose".
- twic 8y agoSo what he's saying is that the two things he doesn't know anything about are business and badgers.
- rossdavidh 8y agoNot quite, "...two OF the things..."
- blackbagboys 8y agoIt's worth keeping in mind that, by and large, this is how the oligarch class thinks. Their top priorities are protecting and justifying their wealth and power. A journalist who exposes a massive fraud and probably saved lives isn't someone performing a public service - he's an enemy. There is no mea culpa. The relationship between the oligarch's own interests and the public interest is purely predatory and adversarial. These priorities are relatively easy to see when it comes to techno-weirdos like Tim Draper and Peter Thiel or cartoonish megalomaniacs like Bezos, but they govern the behavior of even otherwise staid and conventional oligarchs (see, for instance, Eric Schmidt strong-arming the New America Foundation to fire everyone involved in antitrust policy research).
- zasz 8y agoI like the way you think. Are there any books you recommend on understanding how oligarchs think? What do you think is going through the mind of oligarchs with more geopolitical concerns, like Putin?
- blackbagboys 8y agoThis is a useful academic introduction: https://www.amazon.com/Oligarchy-Jeffrey-Winters/dp/0521182980/ https://www.amazon.com/Oligarchy-Jeffrey-Winters/dp/05211829...
- HarryHirsch 8y agoFor a literary treatment once can read Ernst Jünger - the Mauretanier-Orden pops up every now and then in the course of his writings.
- rdlecler1 8y agoWow—this guy really buys into the hype machine to fix all problems. There was a reason most top VCs turned this down—for most of the use cases proposed there is intrinsically too much natural heterogeneity in blood that you need to use a larger blood draw. Journalists were not going to change that fact that this machine was never going to work.
- dboreham 8y agoThe Scooby Doo defense.
- joering2 8y agoRemind me of my distant friend. He was constantly drink driving and eventually got caught and lost his drivers license. He couldnt get to work on time with buses constantly late, so they fired him. 5 years later he still blames the cop for being fired.
- FooHentai 8y agoI'm also irritated by the condescending, misogynistic undercurrent of claim. It seems doubtful the same assertion would have been made if Theranos had been founded/chaired by a man. This belief that women are without agency is stubbornly persistent and omnipresent.
- aj7 8y agoYes this is true, but you have to admit her story was helped on the up-ramp.