From reading Bad Blood, it seems that Holmes and Balwani were behaving in comical extremes from the beginning and constantly made personal enemies over a decade

From reading Bad Blood, it seems that Holmes and Balwani were behaving in comical extremes from the beginning and constantly made personal enemies over a decade. They threatened people like mobsters, and it worked for so long because the employees were so junior or unconfident. I suspect that had Holmes and Balwani just been a little bit nicer, Theranos would have quietly deflated, maybe turning into an entry-level lab automation equient supplier or something. Instead it seems like they went out of their way to make enemies and act suspiciously.