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23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

cnbc.com

11–20 of 458 posts

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#11
post #4

> Wojcicki has theories, but she doesn’t have clear proof for why consumers are shying away from getting tests Because the ones that want them have gotten them and there's no reason to ever buy the product again once you've done it once. I mean, smartphones are great, but the market for them would have hit a wall pretty quickly if no one ever had a reason to replace them after buying their first.

I mean, there's the fact that companies like this also provide your data to DNA databases that governments and other companies have access too. That seems like a good reason to shy away from getting their tests done.

That’s exactly why I’ll never use them.

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#12
Interviewed here a year or so ago.

Honestly I'll admit I didn't do well technically, but every interviewer I had just seemed super impersonal and not very friendly. They asked very interrogative questions, and while I get it and am mostly ok with it, I felt like they were asking due to the existing environment they have there.

I just didn't get a great vibe.

Disclaimer: But again, I know I didn't do well on the technical stuff so maybe I'm biased negatively toward the experience.

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#13
post #5

> Wojcicki has theories, but she doesn’t have clear proof for why consumers are shying away from getting tests Because the ones that want them have gotten them and there's no reason to ever buy the product again once you've done it once. I mean, smartphones are great, but the market for them would have hit a wall pretty quickly if no one ever had a reason to replace them after buying their first.

And then there's the fact that if your parents did it, why would you do it? My parents did it so now I have exactly zero reason to do it myself. Also all the negative publicity behind data being sold, which should surprise nobody.

Because you can have a mutation that your parents don't have?

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#14
post #9

DNA testing still isn't ready for general use, giving conflicting / arbitrary results: https://www.healthista.com/dna-genetic-test-review-three-dif... I'm guessing it's the trough of disillusionment in the hype cycle, and DNA testing will suddenly get really popular in a few years.

or they miss-estimated their market size and growth. I don't think most people care about DNA testing.

or it's already covered by healthcare when a doctor suspects it's necessary (for genetic predispositions).

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#15

Everyone paying attention the pattern of layoffs? Ebay, Mozilla, DigitalOcean, 23andMe, Intel... Pay down your credit card debt and make sure you have at least 6 months of expenses in the bank, if you're young and haven't been through this before.

Always wise. Also a good idea to remember that there are a large number of software jobs outside of big name tech.

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#16

Interviewed here a year or so ago. Honestly I'll admit I didn't do well technically, but every interviewer I had just seemed super impersonal and not very friendly. They asked very interrogative questions, and while I get it and am mostly ok with it, I felt like they were asking due to the existing environment they have there. I just didn't get a great vibe. Disclaimer: But again, I know I didn't do well on the techn…

This breaks my heart to hear. I interviewed there in 2011 as an infra guy, and not only was the infra team personable (the winning question was rapidly identifying the symptoms of a duplex mismatch on a switch ethernet port), the VP of Engineering was awesome as well. He even went so far as to say, "As a tech person, you belong out here in the Bay, even if it's not with us". I turned down the offer, but it was one of the best interview experiences I've ever had.

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#19
post #9

DNA testing still isn't ready for general use, giving conflicting / arbitrary results: https://www.healthista.com/dna-genetic-test-review-three-dif... I'm guessing it's the trough of disillusionment in the hype cycle, and DNA testing will suddenly get really popular in a few years.

or they miss-estimated their market size and growth. I don't think most people care about DNA testing.

when they started, you could get your results anonymously. I recommended several friends to try. Then they changed that policy...at which point I stopped recommending it.

I'm not saying this is the cause, but they had a chance to be good guys and decided against it.

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#20

Everyone paying attention the pattern of layoffs? Ebay, Mozilla, DigitalOcean, 23andMe, Intel... Pay down your credit card debt and make sure you have at least 6 months of expenses in the bank, if you're young and haven't been through this before.

Is the intuition on credit card debt just that unemployment can jeopardize your ability to make payments?
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