I'm guessing this is basic psychology. It's easier to blame a reporter for something you invested in so heavily than to admit on national TV that you screwed up. None of these big shot investors want to admit that they got defrauded, it makes them look foolish.
Tim Draper defends Theranos and its disgraced founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
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Re: Tim Draper defends Theranos and its disgraced founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
#12From what I understand about biology (which is little), there was no real way this was ever going to work. Am I missing something?
There is no reason the underlying idea of nanotainers being used for blood analysis is fundamentally impossible but it is a hard problem because the volume of blood is so small there can easily be statistical fluctuations that affect the classifier. That said, it's strictly correct that, if engineered properly, it could have provided additional actionable medical data.
Re: Tim Draper defends Theranos and its disgraced founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
#13I'm guessing this is basic psychology. It's easier to blame a reporter for something you invested in so heavily than to admit on national TV that you screwed up. None of these big shot investors want to admit that they got defrauded, it makes them look foolish.
They only got defrauded because they couldn't flip their stake to the next fool..
Re: Tim Draper defends Theranos and its disgraced founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
#14John Carreyrou's book is coming out end of May. Already pre-ordered. Can't wait.
Re: Tim Draper defends Theranos and its disgraced founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
#15I'm still not convinced fraud accured at theranos. I think it might be the sec and wsj not understanding how r&d works plus a little bit of bubble think inside the company. I think they went to work every day and worked on blood testing tech. I don't think they went to work every day and plotted a ponzi scheme.
Re: Tim Draper defends Theranos and its disgraced founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
#16> “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…
Tim clearly has some screws loose. I just learned today that he has a fabulously wealthy father; that explains a lot.
Re: Tim Draper defends Theranos and its disgraced founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
#17Listen to the full interview here: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/early-theranos-investor-tim-...
As the founder of a healthcare company, Tim's statement here is the one that I found the most dangerous
"If all she had to do was say this was a beta or whatever and all of us would be using it, would be loving it."
When it comes to people's health you must have concrete evidence that your product works and is robust. Blood testing is not a field where people accept mistakes. Anyone working in this field is used to scrutiny, it is your burden to prove that what you are working on is safe and useful.
There are a lot of quacks, hucksters, and fakes out there proceed with caution.
Re: Tim Draper defends Theranos and its disgraced founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
#18The Drapers are weird. I guess the family has been rich for a long time and they've made a lot of investments, but I don't really see a clear track record of being particularly good at picking winners.
I was at a Bitcoin trade show a few years ago and his son was there pumping his Bitcoin specific venture fund. Quite honestly, he struck me as an enormous asshole. He was on a few panels with people who actually knew how that stuff works and he would just talk right over them again and again in an almost derogatory capacity. It was like zany high school shit.
Also these are the crazy people that want to split California up, well you know, just 'cause.
Re: Tim Draper defends Theranos and its disgraced founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
#19Why is this an AMP link and not a direct link?
Re: Tim Draper defends Theranos and its disgraced founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes
#20> “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…
Tim clearly has some screws loose. I just learned today that he has a fabulously wealthy father; that explains a lot .
His 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).