Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Synopsis: John Carreyrou tells the story of Theranos, a Silicon Valley start up founded in 2003 by 19 year old Stanford dropout Elizabeth Holmes. Theranos promised to deliver a novel blood testing technology. Wth a simple finger prick, dozens if not hundreds of blood tests would be performed in minutes in your local pharmacy and ultimately, even in your home. Theranos raised over $700 million in investment at a $ 9 billion (yes, with a b) valuation. Elizabeth Holmes was, for a while, the most successful woman entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. The problem? It was all fake. The premise was scientifically dubious, efforts to develop the technology were rushed and ultimately Theranos committed wholesale fraud in an effort to keep the myth alive. Carreyrou tells the story of how the Theranos deception got so far, and ultimately, how it was exposed.

Review: This tale of naked greed and ambition really got under my skin. It completely boggles the mind that the con known as Theranos was able to become so successful with no basis for that success. Elizabeth Holmes is clearly very intelligent, but one year of chemical engineering at Stanford does not provide the scientific background to create the novel technology she claimed. Flimsy excuses for her failure to deliver the promised technology abound. Production delay due to an earthquake in Japan? She might as well tell her investors the dog ate her homework, yet they accepted it and then INVESTED EVEN MORE MONEY. Business schools will surely be studying this case for decades to come. While she is no scientist, she’s definitely a grifter and master con artist who finally got caught, and will be on trial in August 2021. This compulsively readable book felt like a script for a thriller movie, and I’m sure a film is in the works.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: I think if I were one of the 800 employees of Theranos, I’d like to go to an upscale coffee shop and get an overpriced avocado toast for breakfast. Sounds very California to me. The beautiful thing about avocado toast is that it’s not complicated enough to need a recipe. Coarsely mash some avocado, add a squeeze of lemon juice and olive oil, spread thickly on bread of choice (a nutty artisan bread seems right), and top with flaky sea salt. Top it with whatever else you like—cherry tomatoes, everything bagel seasoning, smoked salmon, you name it. I was skeptical, but now I’m interested in investing in avocados.