Introduction:
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and former CEO at Theranos, is a health tech company that sold a new blood testing method. Theranos’ valuation plummeted due to allegations about its technology and business practices. Holmes and a former COO were accused for fedural fraud in the year 2018
Who is Elizabeth Homes:
Elizabeth Holmes was the founder and former CEO at Theranos (a Silicon Valley-based tech company that sold non-invasive, cheaper blood testing technology). The company’s valuation soared to over $9 billion. However, there were several reports that Holmes’ technology was flawed and that some of its 7.5 million tests may have been incorrect. Ex-Theranos COO, indicted for 11 federal charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy including Homes
Her Early Life and Education:
Holmes was born in Washington, D.C., on February 3, 1984. She was the daughter and former Capitol Hill staffer Noel and Christian, who both worked for several governmental agencies, such as the United States Agency for International Development. Holmes’ family moved from Washington, D.C., to Houston, Texas, when Holmes was a youngster.
Holmes started her entrepreneurial journey early. Her teenage interest in computer programming inspired her to open a company selling software for coding translation to Chinese universities. At a young age, she learned Mandarin Chinese, which enabled her to take several college-level classes. In 2002, she started her studies at Stanford University in California. She studied chemical engineering and worked with Channing Robertson. A dean who would later become one of Therano’s first board members.
Founding for Theranos:
In 2004, Holmes, then aged 19, left Stanford to start a “Real-Time Cures.” She used her college tuition money to seed the company. Over the following years, Holmes focused her efforts on creating a new type of blood testing. Holmes claimed that her fear of needles inspired it. The name of the company was Theranos. It was an amalgamation between the words “therapy” and “diagnosis.” Tim Draper was an early investor for Theranos, and he was also the father of her childhood friend.
Theranos quickly claimed to have invented several methods. One of their methods eliminated the need for blood samples to be collected using traditional needles. Instead, Tiny amounts of blood was used to be collected by finger stick into a tube called a “nanocontainer” . The second machine was capable of running dozens of tests on the same amount of blood. It could test for everything, from diabetes to cancer to heart disease. He advocated for legislation that would allow these tests to be administered without the need for a doctor’s note in many states. These technologies would have revolutionized blood testing, which is a $75 billion industry annually. Theranos offered these blood tests at a much lower price than traditional hospitals and testing labs. They also provided faster results than conventional tests and cost less than $5.
