4 ms·

Theranos Could Have Been Stopped

14 points by evo_9 8y ago

ivraatiems 8y ago
Dishearteningly true. This didn't have to happen; as I've said before on HN, Theranos seems, from the outside, to be such a blatantly, mustache-twirlingly evil entity that it's hard to understand how anyone could have thought it was a good investment, let alone a moral choice to support. Not that Silicon Valley, for all its crowing about making the world a better place, ever cared about that sort of thing - but they could at least be more honest about what they actually want. Growth, always, growth without limitation, growth regardless of how it is achieved. That attitude is part of what enables this kind of misconduct, and it's what will allow this to keep happening, in other companies and industries, into the future. The Theranos Deception, linked from the posted article[1], mentions Elizabeth Holmes is asking for even more money to continue to support the company. The fact that she can still do that, and indeed, might get it, is sickening. [1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-theranos-elizabeth-holmes-deception/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-theranos-elizabeth-holmes-d...
- abraae 8y ago
  At the heart of many companies is often a founder who wields the reality distortion field. As a tool for smashing organizational roadblocks, as Steve Jobs did, this can work wonders. Things that seemed only potentially possible can become real. Theranos probably falls into this category too. If they had kept going, made breakthroughs, addressed the toxic culture, not been uncovered by investigative journalists while at a vulnerable stage - perhaps they would have made it. Perhaps Elizabeth Holmes still genuinely believes that all she needs is more time, money and followers for her to prove the nay-sayers wrong.
valbaca 8y ago
Please tell me I'm not the only one that thought this was "Thanos Could Have Been Stopped"
- smacktoward 8y ago
  So that's how Elizabeth Holmes raised all that money. She found the Infinity Stones!
Nomentatus 8y ago
Good to hear a corroborating individual story. Stopped earlier, yes. Stopped before investors got burned? That's a different question. It's hard to stop sexual corruption, and it now looks like that has to be considered as a possible root cause of the debacle. How intimately Sunny Balwani was involved in the initial fund raising hasn't been detailed as yet however. http://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-former-president-sunny-balwani-role-in-the-company-2018-5?op=1 http://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-former-president-sun... But Theranos is one grain of sand on a vast shore: The laws could be being enforced vs corporations, but they aren't. The great sub-prime robbery could have been stopped, but it wasn't. Could have been punished, but that hasn't happened. Gerrymandering puts laws and enforcement up for sale by taking ordinary voters out of the loop.

14 points by evo_9 8y ago

Dishearteningly true. This didn't have to happen; as I've said before on HN, Theranos seems, from the outside, to be such a blatantly, mustache-twirlingly evil entity that it's hard to understand how anyone could have thought it was a good investment, let alone a moral choice to support. Not that Silicon Valley, for all its crowing about making the world a better place, ever cared about that sort of thing - but they could at least be more honest about what they actually want. Growth, always, growth without limitation, growth regardless of how it is achieved. That attitude is part of what enables this kind of misconduct, and it's what will allow this to keep happening, in other companies and industries, into the future. The Theranos Deception, linked from the posted article[1], mentions Elizabeth Holmes is asking for even more money to continue to support the company. The fact that she can still do that, and indeed, might get it, is sickening. [1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-theranos-elizabeth-holmes-deception/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-theranos-elizabeth-holmes-d...

abraae 8y ago
At the heart of many companies is often a founder who wields the reality distortion field. As a tool for smashing organizational roadblocks, as Steve Jobs did, this can work wonders. Things that seemed only potentially possible can become real. Theranos probably falls into this category too. If they had kept going, made breakthroughs, addressed the toxic culture, not been uncovered by investigative journalists while at a vulnerable stage - perhaps they would have made it. Perhaps Elizabeth Holmes still genuinely believes that all she needs is more time, money and followers for her to prove the nay-sayers wrong.

valbaca 8y ago

Please tell me I'm not the only one that thought this was "Thanos Could Have Been Stopped"

smacktoward 8y ago
So that's how Elizabeth Holmes raised all that money. She found the Infinity Stones!

Nomentatus 8y ago

Good to hear a corroborating individual story. Stopped earlier, yes. Stopped before investors got burned? That's a different question. It's hard to stop sexual corruption, and it now looks like that has to be considered as a possible root cause of the debacle. How intimately Sunny Balwani was involved in the initial fund raising hasn't been detailed as yet however. http://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-former-president-sunny-balwani-role-in-the-company-2018-5?op=1 http://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-former-president-sun... But Theranos is one grain of sand on a vast shore: The laws could be being enforced vs corporations, but they aren't. The great sub-prime robbery could have been stopped, but it wasn't. Could have been punished, but that hasn't happened. Gerrymandering puts laws and enforcement up for sale by taking ordinary voters out of the loop.