Title: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Author: John Carreyrou

Publisher: Knopf 2018

Genre: Nonfiction - Business

Pages: 339

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood testing significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn’t work.

A riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a tale of ambition and hubris set amid the bold promises of Silicon Valley.

Been on my list for awhile now. Once I dove in, I was completely hooked by the story. The twists and turns, the extraordinary hubris of some people, and the ultimate downfall of a company really struck me. It was a bit strange to be reading a story that featured so many places I have actually been to. Definitely weird. But then, my knowledge of the area wasn’t enough to really clue me into the entire story. Carreyrou’s reporting dives deep into the various employees and intricacies of business decisions. Now I feel like I should dig up the podcast to listen to after reading the book.

Next up on the TBR pile: