Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

This is a book about the Silicon Valley bio-tech start-up Theranos did a lot of deceit. Eventually leading to the key executives being imprisoned for fraud.

There a series of questions that resonated with me, relating to investing in a company (Chapter 23: Damage Control, page 273-274)

• Why was the founder so secretive about her technology?
• Why did the founder never recruit a board member with even basic knowledge of their field?
• Why hadn’t a single venture capital firm with expertise in their field put money into the company?

I think there was a lack of due diligence involved. Holmes was able to convince reputable people with her charm. Those reputable people provided reputability for the company for other reputable people. The cycle continued so far that even the vice president of USA gave a shout-out to Theranos. For it to all come crumpling down within a year.