Elizabeth Holmes: Did Theranos Scandal Shake Silicon Valley?

 

Until a few years ago, Elizabeth Holmes was a Silicon Valley darling and she couldn't do anything wrong. He founded Theranos, a diagnostic company in which Silicon Valley invested millions of dollars.

But the foundation of Elizabeth Holmes' company was actually an imaginary palace she built. Theranos was trying to invent a technology that was said to revolutionize the diagnosis of diseases.

Thiranos claimed that his test, performed with the help of a few drops of blood, would quickly detect hundreds of other serious diseases, such as cancer and diabetes.

The company lost millions of dollars on such tests. According to a cancer patient, these tests were misdiagnosed.

Many years have passed since the Theranos Company was disbanded. Elizabeth Holmes is facing trial in a California court where she pleads not guilty.

For someone who is not part of Silicon Valley, this is a silly story about how many people believed it to be true and invested in it.

Lie until it becomes a product

Exaggerating your product in Silicon Valley is nothing new, and Elizabeth Holmes was an expert at it.

Elizabeth Holmes, who dropped out of Stanford University, is a confident and talkative person who specializes in presenting her ideas very effectively.

Some people did not agree with his idea and told him that his idea was not feasible, but they put forward the idea with confidence and managed to convince investors that their potential technology Will change things

Elizabeth Holmes was called the youngest billionaire

The author of The Code: Silicon Valley and Remaking of America is Margaret O'Mara

She says it's Silicon Valley's culture that if you're a determined young person and you're starting a new company that doesn't have a product yet, you're encouraged.

"When a new company is being set up, investors look for the person whose spirit is alive."

The idea in Silicon Valley is that if the person who promotes the idea is the best, then technology will make up for the shortfall.

Elizabeth Holmes was an expert in selling dreams. Her only problem was that she could not put her idea into practice. His lawyers argue that he is not a fraud but a businessman whose business did not succeed.

The practice of lying in Silicon Valley

Roger McNamey is a Silicon Valley investor but did not invest in Theranos. Roger says Theranos is a reflection of Silicon Valley culture.

Roger believes that Silicon Valley has a tradition of lying and keeping things secret, which allowed a company like Theranos to go so far without analyzing it.

"It's good to be happy," he says. Think of a better future and then try to achieve it. Computers and smartphones have come into being because of such desires, but it has always been a challenge for investors to distinguish between revolutionaries and deceivers.

Last month, Manish Lachwani, CEO of Silicon Valley's phone app company Headspin, was arrested on fraud charges.

Some people take risks to increase their capital.

In Silicon Valley, creative rights are strictly protected, whether it's a recipe for a drink called Coke or a recipe for a sauce. This adds value to the company. Technology companies are very sensitive about their ideas. They do not want anyone to steal their ideas.

Privacy is critical to the success of these companies, but this culture of privacy can also be used for fraud.

That is why scandals like Theranos arise. Thiranos told politicians, journalists and investors that there was technology to diagnose hundreds of diseases with just a few drops of blood.

If anyone asked for more information, they were told that the technology was a secret and could not be tested or explained further.

Walgreens are also among those who have invested in Theranos. He was angry with the company for not providing information.

"I have reported to many companies of Silicon Valley and they will never tell me how their technology works. He says it is a matter of all their rights, which cannot be disclosed or their technology reviewed.

The whole system here runs on credibility which provides the best environment for scandals like Theranos, where claims cannot be tested.

Privacy like CIA 

In a system where so much emphasis is placed on confidentiality, there is a great demand for lawyers. Such companies do not want their employees to steal their ideas. Non-disclosure agreements are made with employees.

In Silicon Valley culture, it is very difficult to uncover secrets. When Theranos sank, its employees said they were under pressure not to speak negatively about the company and to remain silent. The company hired expensive and aggressive lawyers to protect its reputation.

Fox Clough's Corey Chrysler encourages employees to identify illegal work. He says this is not uncommon in silicone.

Rupert Murdoch invested 12 120 million in Theranos

"I spent a decade in national security," she said. I think Silicon Valley has adopted the CIA method. They intimidate people and silence them, and people think they can't even talk about legitimate issues. "

He says the owners and chief executives of these companies are not being honest and should not hesitate to warn employees about the risk, but they often fail to do so.

Silicon Valley: Capital Risk Area 

In this noise, it is easy to forget that investors with experience in the healthcare sector saw Theranos and passed it. Rupert Murdoch, a well-known figure in the media industry, had also invested in Theranos.

Investors like Rupert Murdoch, who have no expertise in the field, point to another issue. Investors who have an abundance of capital invest in companies like Theranos, thinking that small investors may have thoroughly scrutinized the company.

Ms Omara says that since the whole business is run on trust, the big investors who come later think that those who have invested in the company from the beginning must have taken good care of it.

Theranos were eventually caught, which regulators will now prove to be a fake company.

The monitoring system for new companies in Silicon Valley is not so strict. New companies have some privacy advantages and some disadvantages.

Many successful and innovative bugs based on the same model have come into being, but it also means that factors such as Thiranos and other companies still exist.