Her stratospheric rise was a shot across the bow to the male dominated tech industry (the medical tech industry, at least) demonstrating that yes, women can do it too and you\u2019d better be ready for us.<\/p>\n
![\"Buggy](\"http:\/\/www.returnofkings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Holmes-300x166.jpg\" "\\"Bug")
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Bug eyed and bushy tailed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Disruptive technology, they say<\/h3>\n
The revolutionary product at the core of Theranos (a company name beget from \u201ctherapy\u201d and \u201cdiagnosis\u201d) was a proprietary blood test method that only required drops of blood through a pin prick at the pharmacy versus big needles and vials full of blood, a doctors visit and a lab order. Results would be delivered within a few hours, versus days, be more affordable, less intimidating and accessible to the masses.<\/p>\n
This was the disruptive answer to the $75 billion dollar a year market dominated by lab testing giants Quest Diagnostics and Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp.) A deal was struck with Walgreens<\/a> to offer Theranos tests in select locations, with more on the way.<\/p>\n The \u201cone tiny drop\u201d line is no longer on their web site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then, right before the IPO, the balloon popped. In October, a series of reports emerged ranging from FDA allegations of uncleared medical devices<\/a> to employee allegations that Theranos isn\u2019t using the technology<\/a>they claim to have. What happened?<\/p>\n The list of board members at Theranos is impressive, albeit one comprised mostly of DC insiders<\/a> and people completely disconnected with the medical technology industry. What interested them? A strong likelihood is the desire to corner the market on less expensive lab tests, especially since both LabCorp and Quest have both been prosecuted <\/a>for diagnostic testing fraud before.<\/p>\n Moreover, Theranos technology ostensibly replaces visits to primary care doctors, a welcome relief to existing federal programs as well as the imminent costs of Obamacare. Hence, the ability to get on board was probably too big a temptation for the early adopters to ignore. Throw in ablond female Stanford dropout<\/a> in silicon valley as the face of the company, and it looks like nobody even bothered with basic due diligence \u2013 it was just too good to be true.<\/p>\n What about Elizabeth Holmes, the illustrious founder? Yes, she\u2019s a billionaire\u2014but only if you take in the exuberant valuations of Theranos, of which she is 51% owner. The \u201cself made billionaire\u201d line is watered down a bit more considering it was all men who gave her the 400 million in actual cash raised. Her mother was a congressional staffer while dad held several executive positions at USAID,<\/a> undoubtedly facilitating access to connected men like Henry Kissenger, an early Theranos board member.<\/p>\n Holmes is a child prodigy who, while living abroad at age 9, claims to have sold C++ compilers to Chinese customers (citation needed), and also got the privilege of working at the Genome Institute in Singapore the summer after her freshman year at Stanford, since she speaks Mandarin, they say.<\/p>\n Whether or not she speaks any Mandarin (props to anyone who can find a clip of her doing so), the gleeful writers trumpeting this grrl power accomplishment <\/a>neglected to realize that Singapore\u2019s native language is English, not Chinese. Even the Genome Institute web site is English-only<\/a>, and none of the student programs<\/a> require Chinese language. Because Holmes is a Silicon Valley fixture with a Chinese connection, she\u2019s recently been paraded around as America\u2019s answer to Jack Ma<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reality check:<\/strong> she quits school at 19 years old to run a medical technology startup in several areas where PhDs spend decades researching just one aspect of each, and we are supposed to accept the fact that she\u2019s got it all figured out, just like that? Got it.<\/p>\n Most Theranos tests use the same needle and diagnostic machines you are used to.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fast forward past the Tech Crunch presentations, the black turtlenecks and mystery shrouded secret-sauce technology at Theranos andexaggerated business relationships<\/a>, and people are finally starting to wonder<\/a>. Walgreens recently halted<\/a> the addition of any more Theranos machines at their pharmacies until questions about their accuracy are answered.<\/p>\n The scientific community is finally questioning the science behind the tests<\/a>, and while Thernanos talks transparency they have yet to deliver the goods. Hopefully by now they at least\u00a0have a lawyer<\/a> good enough to identify when they might actually be selling medical devices, but who knows.<\/p>\n Not quite Steve Jobs, in spite of the turtleneck.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the end, the Silicon Valley community and the media in general fell in love with the story. After the firing of Ellen Pao<\/a> from her short stint at Reddit, the likely canning of Marissa Mayer<\/a> from Yahoo in the not-too-distant future, it hasn\u2019t been looking too good for females in senior tech roles lately.<\/p>\n If Theranos fails, given all of the smoke and mirrors<\/a> and the backing from several rich powerful men on both coasts, it would be ridiculous for Holmes to blame the patriarchy \u2013 and truthfully, she doesn\u2019t seem the SJW type. But that doesn\u2019t mean someone else won\u2019t do it for her. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.returnofkings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/tiny-drop-300x173.png\" "\\"The")
<\/p>\nDue diligence?<\/h3>\n
This ain\u2019t the taxi business, honey<\/h3>\n
![\"Most](\"http:\/\/www.returnofkings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/theranos-walgreens-300x169.jpg\" "\\"Most")
<\/p>\n![\"Not](\"http:\/\/www.returnofkings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Forbes400-300x376.png\" "\\"Not")
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