Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos were once seen as a golden success story. A Stanford dropout, Holmes had founded a revolutionary health technology company that promised to revolutionise the medical industry by creating a device that could perform a range of blood tests with just a finger-prick of blood. It was a bold and ambitious promise, and one that had investors throwing millions of dollars at the company.
Yet in the years since, Holmes and Theranos have become synonymous with scandal and failure. What went wrong?
The story of Theranos’ downfall began in late 2015, when the Wall Street Journal published an exposé detailing the company’s various missteps, including the fact that it was using outdated and unreliable technology to perform its blood tests. This was followed by a series of investigations, culminating in the company’s closure in 2018 and the criminal indictment of Holmes in 2019.
In Australia, the story of Theranos and Holmes has been watched with a mixture of fascination and horror. On one hand, the story serves as a cautionary tale about the potential pitfalls of investing in unproven technology. On the other, it’s a reminder of the dangers of unchecked ambition and hubris.
The story of Theranos and Holmes has also shone a light on the importance of ethical business practices and the need for greater oversight in the world of start-ups and venture capital. In Australia, this has resulted in increased scrutiny of start-ups and their operations, as well as the introduction of new regulations to protect investors.
Ultimately, the story of Theranos and Holmes is a reminder of the risks of putting too much faith in untested technology. The dream of a revolutionary medical device may have been a powerful one, but it was ultimately too ambitious for its own good.
