Theranos, CEO Holmes, and Former President Balwani Charged with Fraud

Post by 2YwaZHXV » Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 11:36 PM UTC

mbesto wrote: post #416

2YwaZHXV wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They didn't actually build it. Stanford owned the land and building (and built most of it) while Theranos paid for internal improvements. Stanford also recently sold the property (maybe a year or so ago) and 1701 is available for lease now.

Oh wow, TIL. I thought they had bought it from HP.

Post by dragonwriter » Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 11:45 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #322

mbell wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"fake it until you make it" generally refers to the product implementation vs pitch on the consumer side. e.g. You pitch "The best automated way to do X!", but in actuality you have a horde of people doing the work initially to figure out the problem before building the actual automation. There is nothing wrong with this and remains a completely viable approach. What you don't do is tell your investors you've already…

It’s probably “fine” in the sense that nobody will sue you. But you’re basically arguing “it’s okay to lie to consumers about something that’s immaterial.” That’s true, but the standard for materiality under state consumer protection law is pretty low. E.g., under California’s Unfair Competition Law, statements that a lock was Made in America were found actionable under the UCL, even though the lock worked perfectly…

Post by whatshisface » Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 11:50 PM UTC

dnautics wrote: post #378

ericd wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's one way to get funding, but it's certainly not the only way, there are lots of counterexamples. As one obvious counterexample, one of the founding principles of YC is providing an open application process to provide people who don't have any personal connections access to the SV network. Larry and Sergey weren't well connected when they started, either, afaik, as most PhD students aren't. If you're doing somet…

I think incorrect (or even correct, but rare) narratives are dangerous. Especially when they're the feel-good type that people tell to make themselves feel better about the way the world works. (meritocracy, egalitarianism, etc) Anecdata, but: I left academic hard science because I realized it was too difficult to get ahead; moved to the bay since I can code and it was a way to create a runway and find myself, and pi…

Post by entee » Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 11:53 PM UTC

BadassFractal wrote: post #394

Balgair wrote: post #280

His name is Tyler Shultz. He is the main reason we know know what Theranos was doing. He had his life destroyed, he knew it would happen, what Theranos would do to him, and he did the right thing all the same. Tyler Shultz is a hero. Never let someone tell you that you don't matter. Try hard to do what is right. We need more people like him, be one of them too. Be like Tyler Shultz. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/20…

I liked the bit where they tried to use the "women in tech are oppressed" narrative to cover her ass: > Tim Draper, the founding partner of Draper Associates and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, appeared on television on Tuesday—not for the first time—to defend Holmes and Theranos. In an interview on Closing Bell, the world’s most loyal V.C. said Holmes has been “totally attacked,” and that she is “a great example of maybe w…

Post by BadassFractal » Thu, Mar 15, 2018, 12:02 AM UTC

entee wrote: post #427

BadassFractal wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I liked the bit where they tried to use the "women in tech are oppressed" narrative to cover her ass: > Tim Draper, the founding partner of Draper Associates and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, appeared on television on Tuesday—not for the first time—to defend Holmes and Theranos. In an interview on Closing Bell, the world’s most loyal V.C. said Holmes has been “totally attacked,” and that she is “a great example of maybe w…

It's a little unclear to me how this is comparable to the Ellen Pao situation. Admittedly I haven't followed it as closely, but it sounded to me like she had some different ideas about where reddit should go and mishandled a key employee change. One can criticize those choices, but they hardly amount to being terrible at her job or fraud or not deserving the position in the first place. I think a stronger case could…