Thera-NO!

Thera-NO!

September 25, 2026

You’ve probably heard of a defunct company called Theranos. In case you haven’t, it was a start-up that claimed to have an idea for a machine that rapidly tested small amounts of blood for many different properties at reasonable cost. The proposed technology, if it worked, beat all other competitors in this technology space. The machine image is courtesy of uatwitch.com.

But it didn’t work. OK, that happens with start-up companies and new technologies. At that point, it is prudent to acknowledge that outcome and explore whether new approaches or shifts in product expectations might still result in a viable and competitive product. Work with your team, investors, advisors and potential customers to form a plan and go for it OR walk away and fold-up or maybe pursue something different.

But that’s not what happened. Instead, the top tier of the company, notably the CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, but others as well, decided instead to lie about product performance. It’s conceivable that the lying actually started at the early stages of this company and never ended during its life.

From the beginning, investors seem to have been enamored by the “cult of personality effect.” This is something I’ve seen many times. As someone who has created technologies in Fortune 500 companies, mid-size companies, small companies, national laboratories and start-ups, I have some experience in the process to develop a product, get it operational, into production, deployed and into customers’ hands. All too often I’ve seen this phenomena in start-ups (or any company for that matter) unless I’m in a high position in that company. Maybe that’s because I won’t allow, even if it were possible, the “cult of personality effect.” It’s about the idea, the product, the plan, the team, the investors and customers. Investors appear to have become lax on a process called “due diligence” where they deeply evaluate the technology and its potential (technically and financially) not just at the beginning but throughout the development process. We can speculate why that occurred. Based on what I’ve read about the company’s history, it could be called “DEI Infatuation Syndrome” or DEI-IS where DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. But who knows.

When this fraud started to get uncovered, Holmes and her ilk went after the people exposing the lie. But that’s what fraudsters do. To make a long story short, finally in 2022, Holmes was convicted of several fraud charges. The COO, Ramesh Balwani, was also convicted of various fraud charges in 2022. Both were sentenced to prison and fined.

Not only did investors suffer from the personality cult but there was a fan-base developed amongst some members of the general public, that still treat Holmes as some kind of hero. A movie was made and a new documentary was just announced. Huh!

But let’s be clear about what Theranos accomplished:

• ripped off investors, some of whom could not recover from the loss, a loss which destroyed the livelihoods of “regular folk” not just denting the portfolios of wealthy investors
• the loss was in the hundreds of millions (billions on paper)
• the lost money could have gone to individuals and organization or companies that might have actually developed such a product or other beneficial devices, maybe even cured cancer or Alzheimer’s but instead it did nothing but provide a great lifestyle for Holmes and Balwani and stroke their egos
• as far as I can tell, Holmes has never created anything
• crushed trust in the start-up world to the point where potential investors and customers do what I call super-hyper due diligence often slowing down or preventing legitimate start-ups with valuable ideas from moving forward
• the effect of crushed trust is a measurable loss in economic value and competitiveness for the US economy

Now, I know lots of people who have actually created devices, systems, materials, processes and technologies in fields that include:

1. medicine and health care
2. energy including green energy
3. materials
4. food production
5. national defense
6. communications
7. computing
8. and others

The Public is benefited. The Economy grows. The Country is safeguarded. The Environment is protected.

These people, their companies and organizations, especially start-ups, have taken on risks, made sacrifices, worked exhausting schedules, had to navigate the business and technology worlds, and put up with the stresses associated with successfully generating these services and products. The experience can be humbling. Success is never guaranteed and failure is always staring at you. A whole other article or even book could be dedicated to the trials and tribulations of creating a successful company.

Yet, there is no movie about these people or their companies. No one has offered to do any documentary. Remember all Holmes did was take money and squander it fraudulently. No product. Nothing. But there are people out there who apparently have no sense and are willing to be cult-like followers of frauds, con artists, narcissists, sociopaths and other deranged people so there is a market for this nonsense.

I have not and will not watch any movie or documentary about Theranos or Holmes. Frankly, I’ve seen first-hand the impact of this fraud on the investor <-> start-up <-> customer relationship which has suppressed growth and new product generation. In a free society, you get to watch what you want. Go for it. I’m busy creating real products and trying to make companies happen that employ people, create economic growth and benefit this planet. I’ve already created numerous devices, systems, processes, materials and technologies that benefit you, your family, the environment and the country. You don’t know my name.