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Reading Bad Blood it's clear how bad a take this is. Not only did lots of big tech people back Holmes (even if not with capital), but they advised her and it is 100% clear that a huge swath of the failures came from applying SV startup thinking to Theranos. antoniogm/1005528882475249664Permalink On twitter.com
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Ok, so VCs didn't invest much in Theranos, and the company's strategy focused on DC/NY types. But that is missing the point. The whole philosophy of selling an idea first and then getting the product together later, the big ridiculous promises, etc. It's signature Startup culturePermalink On twitter.com
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And the way that Silicon Valley startups position themselves, and are covered, basically created the entire environment where something like Theranos can scam DC/NY biz types. The whole hero founder (down to the dumb clothes), the miracle tech, the promises without results...Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood +4 🙂
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It really doesn't matter if SF invested in Theranos. It was the womb, culture, and content of Theranos. The company couldn't exist without startup culture, and VC bullshit. It's why it is a perfect symbol for the failures of Silicon Valley...Permalink On twitter.com
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Theranos is the perfect example of the failures of Silicon Valley because it played the exact game of Startup Bullshit to perfection, hit every note, did everything right, except function like a normal company would and have a real product and not personality-driven BS.Permalink On twitter.com
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Theranos is all the more perfect example because it symbolized where SV wanted to go, the big money and legitimacy outside of the Valley. And it pulled it off as good as anyone by maximizing out all of Startupland's worse attributes.Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood +4 🙂
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Theranos's failure is Silicon Valley's failure because it shows all the bullshit that Silicon Valley startups pull? That doesn't work when you exit the nebulous realm of technology, where pulling bullshit over people's eyes is easy and no one can tell if you delivered or not.On twitter.com
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If the VCs didn't fall for it, it's b/c they understand, like most tech startup leaders, they're playing a bullshit game for enormous stakes, & their main insurance is they can talk their way out of everything. Theranos is the follow-up generation that believed the BS was real.Permalink On twitter.com
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That's the kicker. The real thing about Silicon Valley and Startupland that Theranos reveals. The whole world, especially DC/NY biz, has been following SV Tech like rats after the piper, and it turns out SV has never had any idea where it was going after all.Permalink On twitter.com
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Mood +2 🙂
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That's true about Theranos, it's true about Google, it's true about Facebook. It's just only the medical world has the pre-established regulation and ethical concerns to pull back the curtain. Who could--would--do that in Tech?Permalink On twitter.com
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( PS: There's a reason a satirical tech company designed to mock Silicon Valley startup culture was called Pied Piper folks. )Permalink On twitter.com
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Also, this is not someone who you should trust to give you an impartial reading on the faults of SV and VCPermalink On twitter.com
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Mood +1 🙂