The Theranos Story, ch. 37: the Object Lessons for future healthcare entrepreneurs

February 22, 2017 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/jacobs-well-texas-woe1.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]There’s an interesting take on the Theranos debacle in Entrepreneur by management consultant/author Steve Tobak. He takes a step back from the healthcare technology that didn’t work, the big money lost and the puffery, where most of us have concentrated. Mr Tobak instead sketches a case study of a Startup House of Cards as an Object Lesson in how entrepreneurialism is NOT supposed to work.

Theranos was a Top Ten List of fatal errors. This Editor’s summary:

  1. They generated no revenue. In just over a decade, Theranos blew through hundreds of millions in funding (he says $700 million, the WSJ has estimated $900 million).
  2. They weren’t anywhere near break-even. By the time Theranos was in 40 Walgreens Wellness Centers, it should have been on a road to break-even and scalable.
  3. The company was built as a fraud from the start or near-start, much like Enron and WorldCom
  4. The company was doomed by a culture of utter secrecy (Editor’s note: none of their technology was peer reviewed, tested or published)
  5. The company was doomed by Ms Holmes’ falsity and hubris in not having a backup plan; black turtlenecks aren’t it
  6. The company was doomed by its own hype: a PR machine AND gullible press, who created a Steve Jobs-esque icon sans accomplishments out of Ms Holmes
  7. The company sold a bill of goods to EVERYONE, including multiple Federal regulators, patients and the public (Editor’s note: he doesn’t mention the Board of Directors and Stanford University!)
  8. Investors, swept up in the private equity bubble, didn’t do their due diligence (though some did)
  9. Ms Holmes had no ability to run this business, but she controlled it 100 percent so no one said boo
  10. “This is what happens when people treat ventures so casually and callously that risk becomes immaterial.”–Mr Tobak

Perhaps we should be grateful that the Edison lab didn’t actually work with all these dysfunctions on parade!

The close to this article is sobering: “Today, there are 186 venture-backed startups valued at $1 billion or more and countless companies valued above $100 million, according to CB Insights. Not too long ago, Theranos was near the top of that unicorn list with a valuation of $9 billion. We still have no idea if it’s a one-off or the beginning of a trend. Remember the Theranos saga as a cautionary tale. Nothing about it is the way business should be. Nothing.” And it will continue, because $900 million makes Theranos a Big Cautionary Tale. Hat tip to our Eye on Theranos, Bill Oravecz of Stone Health Innovations.

See here for the 36 previous TTA chapters in this Continuing, Consistently Amazing Saga

Pitch@Palace 5.0 – a great opportunity for digital health entrepreneurs!

January 5, 2016 | by

pitchaTPALACE logoPitch@Palace 5.0 will be held at St James’s Palace on Monday 7th March 2016.

The preliminary Pitch@Palace Boot Camp will take place on Monday 22nd February, 2016 at the University of Cambridge. To participate in Pitch@Palace 5.0 you must be available to attend the Pitch@Palace Boot Camp.

Pitch@Palace Boot Camp will provide 42 entrepreneurs with the opportunity to hear from leading industry experts and Pitch@Palace alumni, as well as receiving support and mentoring. All participants are asked to prepare a three minute Pitch for a panel of judges, who will select between 12 to 15 entrepreneurs to pitch at St. James’s Palace on the 7th March.

All entrepreneurs attending Pitch@Palace Boot Camp will be invited to attend Pitch@Palace 5.0 and will have the opportunity to meet guests at the event.

Entry is open to entrepreneurs in the following categories: Agriculture, Food Sciences, Plant Sciences, Research Technologies, Diagnostics, Therapeutics, Medical Devices and Big Data and Healthcare. Businesses must be UK-based.

In addition to the mandatory Boot Camp, there are two optional ‘on tour’ events in London (26th January) and Manchester (2nd February).

Entries close 15th January – for more details, and to apply, click here.

The Duke of York founded Pitch@Palace – more background information is here.

Fancy six months in Dubai becoming an entrepreneur all expenses paid, with no strings?

November 10, 2015 | by

Evangelia Balanou has drawn this editor’s attention to an extraordinarily attractive-looking offer. Dubai 100 is:

“an intensive six months cross-disciplinary pre-accelerator programme designed to develop the growth of young talent through industry awareness, entrepreneurship mentorship and business opportunities. The programme is free of charge and does not require any equity stake in graduating startups. We fully cover visas, flights, accommodation and office spaces for accepted applicants for the duration of the programme.”

The principal selection criteria are:

  • 15 international recent graduates in teams of up to 3 members. Between the ages of 20-30 years old
  • Teams should apply with an innovative early stage idea in the med-tech and digital health space
  • Teams that have 3 cofounders willing to spend the entire 6 months duration in Dubai and working with full commitment on their start-up will be given priority over others
  • Teams should not have participated in any accelerator programmes, received any investments or experienced significant traction yet.

Here is the full Dubai 100 programme overview, or email arshia.yadav@falconandassociates.ae if there is anything more you want to know. To apply click here.

NOTE: the application deadline is 15th November.

Good luck…and do let us know if you applied as a result of this blog, and were accepted!