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The Theranos Startup Model is just the capitalist equivalent of SSFP: Instead of making useless shoes, they make useless software or fake hardware. Instead of
by black_13 2y ago
The Theranos Startup Model is just the capitalist equivalent of SSFP:
Instead of making useless shoes, they make useless software or fake hardware.
Instead of meeting state quotas, they hit VC funding goals.
Instead of the government propping them up, investors keep them afloat.
2. Theranos as a “Startup Shoe Factory”
Theranos is the perfect capitalist version of the Soviet Shoe Factory:
Soviet Model == Theranos Model (Capitalist Equivalent) Shoe factories produced small sizes to meet quotas. Theranos faked blood test results to meet investor expectations. Factories cut material costs and quality to meet output goals. Theranos lied about its technology because real innovation was too slow. Central planners rewarded metrics over reality. VC investors rewarded hype over real products.
Factories looked productive on paper, even if they made useless products. Theranos looked like a billion-dollar startup, even though it had no working product. The economy was distorted by planned quotas. The startup world is distorted by fake valuations and exit-driven funding.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- stickfigure 2y agoNah. Theranos was a fraud that survived for 15 years (fewer if you count their active period). "Capitalism" killed it off when the fraud became public and investors stopped giving them money. Capitalism isn't magic, humans can still be fooled. The nice thing about capitalism is that I personally didn't have to give them money. Caveat investor.
- mempko 2y agoYou do know the Soviet System also had money and had the equivalent of 'investors' giving said money to institutions. Money and markets is not what makes capitalsim unique. Hint, it's in the name.
- kevin_thibedeau 2y agoThey weren't operating as a fraud in the beginning. I'd give the benefit of the doubt that Holmes was just naive about the technical issues given her inexperience. They switched to fraud to buy time for the intended product.
- worthless-trash 2y agoIs it acceptable business practice (aka not fraud) to take money from people when an even laymen in the field can detect the level of lies. Rational human beings don't like being tricked, she was a magician of medicinal claims and knew the showmanship requirements. Extraordinary claims require some kind of data and facts to back the claim, which there was none. There is no evidence to believe they could develop this technology, optimism yes, but evidence no. It was fraud from the start.