This CEO is out for blood • Hacker News Board

Re: This CEO is out for blood

#21

Post by dotrob » Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 8:51 PM UTC

sujeetsr wrote: post #15

Procrastes wrote: post #7

> “I realized that I could have just as well been looking into the eyes of a Steve Jobs or a Bill Gates.” > Though Theranos is largely unknown even in Silicon Valley, that is about to change. > Precisely how Theranos accomplishes all these amazing feats is a trade secret. > The analyzers look like large desktop computer towers. Holmes declines to explain how they work, or even allow them to be photographed, citing th…

Theranos == Umbrella Corporation?

"Theranos" reads very similar to "thanatos" to me, which is unfortunate. I had to force myself to read it as "thERaNos."

Re: This CEO is out for blood

#22

Post by Procrastes » Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 8:52 PM UTC

dotrob wrote: post #21

sujeetsr wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theranos == Umbrella Corporation?

"Theranos" reads very similar to "thanatos" to me, which is unfortunate. I had to force myself to read it as "thERaNos."

That struck me too. Hope it's not an inside joke.

Re: This CEO is out for blood

#23

Post by ElComradio » Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 8:53 PM UTC

JonnieCache wrote: post #9

Procrastes wrote: post #7

> “I realized that I could have just as well been looking into the eyes of a Steve Jobs or a Bill Gates.” > Though Theranos is largely unknown even in Silicon Valley, that is about to change. > Precisely how Theranos accomplishes all these amazing feats is a trade secret. > The analyzers look like large desktop computer towers. Holmes declines to explain how they work, or even allow them to be photographed, citing th…

The whole article was pretty weird. Anyone care to speculate what's going on here?

What is a near-certainty is that the timing of this piece is not random, especially considering that board composition.

Re: This CEO is out for blood

#24

Post by teej » Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 8:54 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #14

Procrastes wrote: post #7

> “I realized that I could have just as well been looking into the eyes of a Steve Jobs or a Bill Gates.” > Though Theranos is largely unknown even in Silicon Valley, that is about to change. > Precisely how Theranos accomplishes all these amazing feats is a trade secret. > The analyzers look like large desktop computer towers. Holmes declines to explain how they work, or even allow them to be photographed, citing th…

I skimmed through the first part, but based on your comment I went back and read the article. > As a bonus, board meetings are also attended by the company’s de facto legal adviser at large, trial lawyer David Boies. Boies represented the DOJ in the Microsoft antitrust proceedings and Al Gore in Bush v. Gore. What an odd cast for a startup board. I wonder what connects all these people, other than all being high-prof…

They are all very strategic choices. Boies in order to protect the company from litigious incumbents, generals to help secure government contracts, and senators to help protect against legislative moves.

Re: This CEO is out for blood

#25

Post by mpyne » Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 9:01 PM UTC

Procrastes wrote: post #17

JonnieCache wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole article was pretty weird. Anyone care to speculate what's going on here?

Wild guess? Someone at DOD or DOS has a simulation that really has them spooked and wants to get civilian testing coverage in place fast, so they've thrown support behind Holmes who has a way to do it. Zombie jokes aside, it's really a pretty reasonable first step for pandemic resilience. Or Holmes is an alien who wants to inject everyone with vegan mind control spiders. Either way it's likely good for humanity in th…

> Someone at DOD or DOS has a simulation that really has them spooked and wants to get civilian testing coverage

NORTHCOM maybe (they're the geographic combatant commander in charge of DSCA planning for pandemic influenza). But despite the horror show portrayed about the military in all the zombie/pandemic movies, the military wants badly to avoid anything to do with this mission at all, so it wouldn't surprise me if they're trying to get contractors to do the heavy lifting for response planning.

Re: This CEO is out for blood

#26

Post by enimodas » Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 9:02 PM UTC

I had to delete the header to be able to read the article. The constantly changing/flashing text just a couple of cm higher to where my eyes are focusing to read the article is very annoying.

Re: This CEO is out for blood

#27

Post by OrwellianChild » Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 9:04 PM UTC

Can someone help me on the technical aspects of the blood tests they've developed?

The premise appears to be that they take extremely small samples ("25 to 50 microliters") and run lots of tests ("as many as 70 different tests from a single draw") using "the same fundamental chemical methods".

This compares with standard blood tests which require 2 orders of magnitude more blood ("numerous tubes of blood, each containing 3,000- to 5,000-microliter samples").

How does one produce reliable output with the same sensitivity/specificity using the same chemistry with so much less blood? I find it hard to believe that the existing lab procedures left that much efficiency on the table...

Re: This CEO is out for blood

#28

Post by dlss » Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 9:09 PM UTC

So no one has mentioned this yet, but this article is actually the Fortune cover story.

And I think very much deserved, not for most of the details mentioned in the article, but because of their pricing page: http://www.theranos.com/test-menu -- it's freaking cheap.

Re: This CEO is out for blood

#29

Post by Killah911 » Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 9:10 PM UTC

jonnathanson wrote: post #13

JonnieCache wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole article was pretty weird. Anyone care to speculate what's going on here?

Cynical interpretation: well-funded med-tech company hires an incredibly well-connected board and presumably a great PR firm, and lands an epic puff piece in Fortune. Uncynical interpretation: well-funded med-tech company quietly grows to become an inspiring success, thanks to game-changing technology and a brilliant founder. I see both of these interpretations as compatible. In fact, #1 can often follow from #2. In…

I had a smile on my face while reading this article. Regardless of the PR behind the article, it's certainly refreshing to see a startup like this. I'm rooting for them. Medtech needs game changing technologies!

Re: This CEO is out for blood

#30

Post by rayiner » Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 9:10 PM UTC

jonnathanson wrote: post #20

rayiner wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I skimmed through the first part, but based on your comment I went back and read the article. > As a bonus, board meetings are also attended by the company’s de facto legal adviser at large, trial lawyer David Boies. Boies represented the DOJ in the Microsoft antitrust proceedings and Al Gore in Bush v. Gore. What an odd cast for a startup board. I wonder what connects all these people, other than all being high-prof…

"What an odd cast for a startup board. I wonder what connects all these people, other than all being high-profile." Government relations. Influence with policymakers and thought leaders. Makes total sense for a med-tech company. This is an industry where "non-market factors" (government regulation, threat of competitive lobbying or lawsuits by incumbents, etc.) play an enormous role. If I were starting a med-tech com…

I know its all highly secret, but how awesome would it be to read Bill Gates's take on the technology?