dailyBooks - Bad Blood--Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou | Conversation Starters

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John Carreyrous

Bad Blood

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Introducing Bad Blood

B ad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup tells the story of ambitious Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of a startup company who rose to billionaire status only to be found out that her much vaunted product doesnt work and furthermore, endangered the lives of American patients. It is written by Pulitzer Prize winner investigative journalist John Carreyrou.

Elizabeth Holmes is touted as the next Steve Jobs of Silicon Valley, a fast-rising entrepreneur who convinced big name investors to support her company Theranos which peaked at $9 billion in investments. She is the youngest female CEO who has reached billionaire status, making her the pride of Silicon Valley. With her charismatic personality, she was able to convince her investors that her technology is worth investing in. Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou however started to see cracks in her formidable image when he started getting negative information about her product, supposedly a new technology that can detect health conditions by examining just a drop of blood from a patient. Carreyrou came out with his report in 2015, questioning Theranos capability of delivering its promised new technology. Holmes denied any defect in her product and accused Carreyrou of lying. By May 2018, Theranos is about to be dissolved, having settled civil charges of defrauding investors, filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Criminal charges are expected to be filed soon. Carreyrou chronicles Holmes rise and fall, starting with her initial tech ideas as a Stanford University drop-out, progressing to a billion-dollar startup, and then her efforts to quell employee dissenters who warned her about the faulty product. Her companys battle to stop Carreyrou from further exposing Theranos fraudulent acts is also told. The book outlines how she only wanted to focus on her success and ignored the caution that she is endangering the lives of patients who depended on her blood testing technology.

The first part of the book focuses on how Holmes became the most successful woman CEO in Silicon Valley, while the second part recounts how Carreyrou started investigating Theranos controversial product and fundraising methods. Holmes is revealed as an ambitious entrepreneur who barely had a year of university studies when she started creating the fantastic idea that would launch her ascent in Silicon Valley. Told in the third person perspective, the book tells how hypnotic she was with investors who included

retired politicians Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, Safeway, Walgreens, and a Stanford University associate dean. She fits the description of a narcissist, is intelligent but does not want to be challenged by the people she employed. To encourage productivity she made her engineering teams compete against each other instead of encouraging collaboration.

She spied on her employees by ordering her assistants to know what others say about her on Facebook. Her delusions led her to say that Theranos made the most important product ever built for humanity. She admired Steve Jobs and followed his dressing style, wearing black turtlenecks to work. She read Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson and implemented his management style described in the book. Her second-in-command Sunny Balwani, who is also her boyfriend, is described as equally controlling. He told employees to leave the company if they feel like questioning their management decisions. He monitored the employees number of hours worked and closely watched their whereabouts. He was known to have given copies of the book The Alchemist to Theranos workforce.

Carreyrou is exhaustive in his research, interviewing over 150 people including the over 60 employees who quit working for Theranos. He gives clear descriptions of the technology created by Theranos engineers and how this was not enough to make it work.

It is cinematic, written like a crime thriller, with suspense that is perfectly paced.

Characterization is likewise multifaceted, making the entire book a tour de force. The suspense includes the story of how Theranos lawyers threatened former employees from talking to Carreyrou. The 25-year old grandson of Theranos investor George Shultz was threatened repeatedly and had to momentarily severe connections with Carreyrou. His relationship with his grandfather was strained because the respected statesman refused to believe his grandsons first-hand experience of working in Theranos. Other former employees at first refused to talk the author because of the same complications.

Carreyrou says the main problem was that Holmes overpromised to her investors and could not fulfill them due to her defective technology. She lied to cover up for these. She boasted of contracts with drug industries that were nonexistent. Her company spread the story that their technology is being used by the US Army in Afghanistan. The book points to the issue that the problem is not just Holmes and Theranos but of the tech industrys excesses. Silicon Valley promotes the startup culture which involves dazzling investors with unrealistic promises, employee abuse, and flaunting laws in the name of innovation.

Bad Blood is a New York Times bestseller for four weeks as of June 2018. It is an Amazon Best Book for May 2018. It will soon be made into film with Jennifer Lawrence in lead role.