I like movies. Especially those that take you on a rollercoaster that leaves you walking away with a mixed bag of unresolved thoughts/feelings/ideas. Movies that make you think.
I highly recommended cautionary documentary and the rise and fall of Theranos.
Theranos was an extreme case of potential fraud, patient abuse, and it seems like a very bad mark on the already highly-risky setting that we all deal with day-to-day.
So many themes to unwrap relative to our space in early-stage, disruptive innovation that are likely taking place in completely legal operations…
A few things I thought about (in the first 30 min):
- What is the proper way to make the “impossible” happen while maintaining the momentum in the now— near-term expectations of the shareholders, the breaking media, and perceptual comptetive barriers?
- Is the Silicon Valley culture and investor pool the right fit for biotech?
- “Successful” people are also not as good as they think at reading people
- Any sort of barrier between the actual technical realities and the lead marketing teams is disastrous. It’s especially bad when the executives move fully from the former to the latter.
- If real, disruptive innovation more towards the goal of becoming Hollywood famous vs. down and dirty, make it happen garage work…things could get bad.
All that said, I was also uncomfortable by how excited I was with the aspiring goals of Theranos, and the drive not to just make better, but to revolutionize. We should all aspire to that in whatever we do…but just in a legit way.
Enjoy
Jacob
