Gyroscopic Investing

From "youngest self-made female billionaire" to now in prison making $0.12 in the cafeteria for the next 11 years. What a stunning fall from grace.



https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/06/07/ ... ts-report/

I still remember seeing her, years back, on the cover of a magazine at my local book store. The title proudly declared "THE NEXT STEVE JOBS". I recall feeling a sense of envy about this woman, around my age, achieving so much in so little time. It's funny how things are frequently not quite as they appear. She duped some high-powered people with her claims, Henry Kissinger and Rupert Murdoch among them.

I suppose it's one thing to produce vaporware when all you're promising is some new laptop design that's 20% faster than the last generation. But when you're dealing with products that directly concern peoples' health that's something else entirely. This 11.25 year sentence seemed like something of a warning to the rest of the biotech industry. Hopefully something similar does not befall Elon Musk and Neuralink.

I've had this in front of me for many days in an attempt to prod me to watch it:


https://www.max.com/movies/1d7c48f8-806 ... 00lwPkWHAJ

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (HBO)
: An inside look at Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes, whose ambition spawned one of the biggest frauds in Silicon Valley.

One of the most troubling things in the Elizabeth Holmes story is her second child, conceived after conviction but before sentencing and used by her attorneys as a basis for her petition for remaining out of prison pending her appeal.

The question of course being did she bring a child into the world as part of a legal strategy? Maybe yes, maybe no, not a good look either way.

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 11:45 am
She duped some high-powered people with her claims, Henry Kissinger and Rupert Murdoch among them.

She fooled a lot of people. Or at least, she had a lot of people onboard whom she lied to and who took her at her word. Because if you’re not a scientist yourself, how can you even check? I guess they should have some hired some independent testers.

dualstow wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 4:15 pm

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 11:45 am
She duped some high-powered people with her claims, Henry Kissinger and Rupert Murdoch among them.

She fooled a lot of people. Or at least, she had a lot of people onboard whom she lied to and who took her at her word. Because if you’re not a scientist yourself, how can you even check? I guess they should have some hired some independent testers.

We'll see how much time she actually serves.

https://old.reddit.com/r/redscarepod/co ... ed_mother/

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 8:53 pm

dualstow wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 4:15 pm

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 11:45 am
She duped some high-powered people with her claims, Henry Kissinger and Rupert Murdoch among them.

She fooled a lot of people. Or at least, she had a lot of people onboard whom she lied to and who took her at her word. Because if you’re not a scientist yourself, how can you even check? I guess they should have some hired some independent testers.

https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes ... -91-42.jpg
{ Invest in what you know — Peter Lynch }

Amen!

glennds wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 1:13 pm One of the most troubling things in the Elizabeth Holmes story is her second child, conceived after conviction but before sentencing and used by her attorneys as a basis for her petition for remaining out of prison pending her appeal.

The question of course being did she bring a child into the world as part of a legal strategy? Maybe yes, maybe no, not a good look either way.

My guess is yes - she conceived a child as a way to avoid prison for as long as possible...

yankees60 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 11:58 am
I've had this in front of me for many days in an attempt to prod me to watch it:


https://www.max.com/movies/1d7c48f8-806 ... 00lwPkWHAJ

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (HBO)
: An inside look at Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes, whose ambition spawned one of the biggest frauds in Silicon Valley.

Am now about 15 minutes into this and it is quite good so far. Well done.

A good timeline of her and her company.

https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uplo ... MELINE.jpg

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 17, 2023 8:30 pm

yankees60 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 11:58 am I've had this in front of me for many days in an attempt to prod me to watch it:


https://www.max.com/movies/1d7c48f8-806 ... 00lwPkWHAJ

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (HBO)
: An inside look at Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes, whose ambition spawned one of the biggest frauds in Silicon Valley.

Am now about 15 minutes into this and it is quite good so far. Well done.

I've been meaning to watch this one. I was waiting for the Jennifer Lawrence rendition of the Elizabeth Holmes story to be released, but I only recently found out that the project was cancelled. Apparently Lawrence saw Amanda Seyfriend's performance as Elizabeth Holmes and didn't feel as though she could top it.

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 12:37 am

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 17, 2023 8:30 pm

yankees60 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 11:58 am
I've had this in front of me for many days in an attempt to prod me to watch it:


https://www.max.com/movies/1d7c48f8-806 ... 00lwPkWHAJ

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (HBO)
: An inside look at Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes, whose ambition spawned one of the biggest frauds in Silicon Valley.

Am now about 15 minutes into this and it is quite good so far. Well done.

I've been meaning to watch this one. I was waiting for the Jennifer Lawrence rendition of the Elizabeth Holmes story to be released, but I only recently found out that the project was cancelled. Apparently Lawrence saw Amanda Seyfriend's performance as Elizabeth Holmes and didn't feel as though she could top it.

Finished watching it last night and it remained excellent throughout.

Until I just read what you had written I was unaware there was something else to watch about Elizabeth Holmes:

https://www.etonline.com/the-dropout-in ... %20Dropout.

Also, when I get intrigued about something, I, of course, want to read a book(s) about it. Anyone have any recommended ones on this subject?

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 9:05 am

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 12:37 am

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 17, 2023 8:30 pm

yankees60 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 11:58 am I've had this in front of me for many days in an attempt to prod me to watch it:


https://www.max.com/movies/1d7c48f8-806 ... 00lwPkWHAJ

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (HBO)
: An inside look at Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes, whose ambition spawned one of the biggest frauds in Silicon Valley.

Am now about 15 minutes into this and it is quite good so far. Well done.

I've been meaning to watch this one. I was waiting for the Jennifer Lawrence rendition of the Elizabeth Holmes story to be released, but I only recently found out that the project was cancelled. Apparently Lawrence saw Amanda Seyfriend's performance as Elizabeth Holmes and didn't feel as though she could top it.

Finished watching it last night and it remained excellent throughout.

Until I just read what you had written I was unaware there was something else to watch about Elizabeth Holmes:

https://www.etonline.com/the-dropout-in ... %20Dropout.

Also, when I get intrigued about something, I, of course, want to read a book(s) about it. Anyone have any recommended ones on this subject?

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou!

https://old.reddit.com/r/Theranos/top/?sort=top&t=all

So what systemic changes are needed? Its never as simple as "this one person was evil, end of story"

From my own lab experience I saw that only basic data collection like the Genome project should be tax funded. But this was all private(?)

edit1 https://old.reddit.com/r/Theranos/comme ... e/hrc53cn/

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 5:17 pm

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 9:05 am

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 12:37 am

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 17, 2023 8:30 pm

yankees60 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 09, 2023 11:58 am
I've had this in front of me for many days in an attempt to prod me to watch it:


https://www.max.com/movies/1d7c48f8-806 ... 00lwPkWHAJ

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (HBO)
: An inside look at Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes, whose ambition spawned one of the biggest frauds in Silicon Valley.

Am now about 15 minutes into this and it is quite good so far. Well done.

I've been meaning to watch this one. I was waiting for the Jennifer Lawrence rendition of the Elizabeth Holmes story to be released, but I only recently found out that the project was cancelled. Apparently Lawrence saw Amanda Seyfriend's performance as Elizabeth Holmes and didn't feel as though she could top it.

Finished watching it last night and it remained excellent throughout.

Until I just read what you had written I was unaware there was something else to watch about Elizabeth Holmes:

https://www.etonline.com/the-dropout-in ... %20Dropout.

Also, when I get intrigued about something, I, of course, want to read a book(s) about it. Anyone have any recommended ones on this subject?

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou!

Thanks! Just bought a delivered paperback version for $6.36. Will read it soon after it arrives.

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 7:43 pm Thanks! Just bought a delivered paperback version for $6.36. Will read it soon after it arrives.

Let us know what you think of it.

The whole story is just so fascinating to me. I often wonder what she's thinking right now.

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 11:21 pm

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 7:43 pm
Thanks! Just bought a delivered paperback version for $6.36. Will read it soon after it arrives.

Let us know what you think of it.

The whole story is just so fascinating to me. I often wonder what she's thinking right now.

Or, what was she thinking for all those years while she was perpetrating such a massive fraud!

I know you are Canadian.

For U.S. history the only comparable business story I can think of would be Enron.

I had thought that "The Dropout" was a movie but was happy to find out it is a 8 part series. I'm on the second episode and so far all has been quite good. No Yankees game tonight so should be able to get in an additional 3 or 4 episodes.

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 11:21 pm

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 7:43 pm Thanks! Just bought a delivered paperback version for $6.36. Will read it soon after it arrives.

Let us know what you think of it.

The whole story is just so fascinating to me. I often wonder what she's thinking right now.

The way Carreyrou broke the story is a testament to the importance of investigative journalism. The scale of the fraud almost seems proportional to the degree that everyone wanted to believe her story because it was such a good one. Carreyrou was one of very few who asked "what if" and sought proof.

As far as what she's thinking now, I can only speculate, but this behavior is a form of sociopathy. I doubt she feels any remorse or accountability. Total self-interest with no regard for right and wrong would be my guess. The timing and circumstance of her second child's birth is especially reprehensible, or at the very least grossly irresponsible.

It's interesting how in hindsight the black turtlenecks and fake deep voice are obvious signs of something being awry. But at the time, I like most, thought it was just such a good story of innovation, it was just so easy to believe she was some kind of wunderkind.

glennds wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2023 10:57 am

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 11:21 pm

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 7:43 pm Thanks! Just bought a delivered paperback version for $6.36. Will read it soon after it arrives.

Let us know what you think of it.

The whole story is just so fascinating to me. I often wonder what she's thinking right now.

The way Carreyrou broke the story is a testament to the importance of investigative journalism. The scale of the fraud almost seems proportional to the degree that everyone wanted to believe her story because it was such a good one. Carreyrou was one of very few who asked "what if" and sought proof.

As far as what she's thinking now, I can only speculate, but this behavior is a form of sociopathy. I doubt she feels any remorse or accountability. Total self-interest with no regard for right and wrong would be my guess. The timing and circumstance of her second child's birth is especially reprehensible, or at the very least grossly irresponsible.

It's interesting how in hindsight the black turtlenecks and fake deep voice are obvious signs of something being awry. But at the time, I like most, thought it was just such a good story of innovation, it was just so easy to believe she was some kind of wunderkind.

Agree on the lack of remorse...

She had the Steve Jobs turtleneck - now if she would have just had a Steve Wozniak type to really make the concept work.

glennds wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2023 10:57 am

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 11:21 pm

yankees60 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 18, 2023 7:43 pm
Thanks! Just bought a delivered paperback version for $6.36. Will read it soon after it arrives.

Let us know what you think of it.

The whole story is just so fascinating to me. I often wonder what she's thinking right now.

The way Carreyrou broke the story is a testament to the importance of investigative journalism. The scale of the fraud almost seems proportional to the degree that everyone wanted to believe her story because it was such a good one. Carreyrou was one of very few who asked "what if" and sought proof.

As far as what she's thinking now, I can only speculate, but this behavior is a form of sociopathy. I doubt she feels any remorse or accountability. Total self-interest with no regard for right and wrong would be my guess. The timing and circumstance of her second child's birth is especially reprehensible, or at the very least grossly irresponsible.

It's interesting how in hindsight the black turtlenecks and fake deep voice are obvious signs of something being awry. But at the time, I like most, thought it was just such a good story of innovation, it was just so easy to believe she was some kind of wunderkind.

Obviously this is a TV series which does not have to hew to the truth or facts so she may or may not have said what I heard in an episode a short while ago: "I don't feel what other people feel." -- which is a characteristic of a sociopath.

GT wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2023 8:28 pm She had the Steve Jobs turtleneck - now if she would have just had a Steve Wozniak type to really make the concept work.

Good one lol!!

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 20, 2023 12:41 am

GT wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2023 8:28 pm
She had the Steve Jobs turtleneck - now if she would have just had a Steve Wozniak type to really make the concept work.

Good one lol!!

Finished watching the 8 part series last night. Consistently excellent from start to finish.

Book to arrive in a week or two. Will read it quite quickly once it arrives. But, maybe, I'll get a nice surprise and it will get to me sooner than then.

yankees60 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:02 am Finished watching the 8 part series last night. Consistently excellent from start to finish.

Book to arrive in a week or two. Will read it quite quickly once it arrives. But, maybe, I'll get a nice surprise and it will get to me sooner than then.

I just got a copy too!

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 11:56 am

yankees60 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:02 am
Finished watching the 8 part series last night. Consistently excellent from start to finish.

Book to arrive in a week or two. Will read it quite quickly once it arrives. But, maybe, I'll get a nice surprise and it will get to me sooner than then.

I just got a copy too!

I had thought you'd already read it as you were the one who recommended it to me.

And, now that I finished the series I see that is the book to read, given that it is by the Wall Street Journal reporter who wrote the stories in that paper.

The scene with him and his boss going against her legal team, led by famed attorney David Boises, was a classic! Highly entertaining!