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Comment by neom | Hacker News Reader

Indeed, early 2015 year a couple VC friends warned me that Theranos was a bunch of crock and everyone knew it, and that it was going to be the company that would send rippled through the venture market in 2016. Well 2016 was sure a cold year for venture. When I think about Elizabeth as an entrepreneur, on one hand I respect her for trying something so audacious, and sticking with it for so long. However, the one thing that the valley doesn't teach you (in fact quite the opposite) is that there are actually almost no short cuts in startup, get capital and deploy it building a strong and resilient product and business around it, then take it to market. Elizabeth got really caught up in taking absolutely nothing feasible to market, and that's a damn shame.

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It's not just about "trying something audacious" or "sticking with it". Do that with your social photo sharing site.

People's medical diagnoses and health is on the line here. The cavalier attitude of "getting caught up in taking nothing feasible to market" makes me sick.

I agree, I think I sounded softer than I actually feel about it. She should probably go to jail, I just do think she tried something hard, and tried something hard for a long time (she started in 2003), and failed. She should have realized when she failed though.

At a certain point you have to ask yourself if "she got caught up" or if she was aware of the full implications of her company for years and merely covered it up. I hold zero sympathy for the latter because it wasted years of the lives of hundreds of employees. Not to mention money, that guy who killed himself, societal implications, etc.

100% agree - Personally, like to air on the side of humans being good. While I certainly don't think she acted in a good way, I want to believe she isn't malicious, although it's hard to see how she wasn't. She certainly isn't a very good CEO. I guess I was just saying resilience isn't as easy as people think (she founded in 2003), and as someone who battles it myself, I (emotionally) find persistence to be inspiring. Maybe I shouldn't. :)

>When I think about Elizabeth as an entrepreneur, on one hand I respect her for trying something so audacious, and sticking with it for so long.

Audacious like...mass fraud (potentially)? If you say so.

>Elizabeth got really caught up in taking absolutely nothing feasible to market, and that's a damn shame.

What is shameful about it? She was a well-connected person who leveraged contacts to raise money. The fewer people we have like that in the startup world, the better.

Do you believe that when she started out founding the company she was planning to commit fraud? Regarding shameful, how do you feel about the word intent?

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