Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Absolutely riveting, and a great example of what journalism is supposed to be. I've been aware of the Theranos saga over the last couple years so I was interested to get the full scoop in long form, but wow. It was hard to put down. As in I didn't. Highly recommended if you're interested in Silicon Valley drama, human nature and how not to run a startup. Also recommended for those who enjoy train wrecks.

One takeaway I want people to pay attention to is how risky it is to rely on the knowledge of someone else when it comes to technical/scientific processes or devices. It's crazy that with all the red flags about feasibility it took so long for people to catch on to the fact this device could not possibly do what she claimed it could do. On the other hand, I work with small businesses in a technical space and I see the same semi-blind trust that can lead to wasted funds or worse. If you're investing in a business or even just paying someone to do your website, please do enough research to understand rudimentary principles. It's really hard to make good decisions if you don't understand at least some of the technical process behind things. I also believe a competent vendor should be able to explain their product or service in layman's terms. If they can't, or they refuse, it's a red flag.

This is also a rather extreme example of the importance of the business rule: “under-promise and over-deliver.” And, you know, honesty. Also that.