Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

“‘We’ve been fooling investors. We can’t keep doing that.’ Elizabeth’s expression suddenly changed. Her cheerful demeanor of just moments ago vanished and gave way to a mask of hostility. It was like a switch had been flipped.” 

Like a charismatic salesperson who becomes angry when a potential client turns down a sales pitch, Elizabeth Holmes could switch the charisma on and off, using it to charm people into following her but displaying sudden anger toward anyone who failed to see things her way. This served as a large warning sign that Elizabeth couldn’t be trusted, but it was a symptom only witnessed by insiders. 

“Elizabeth liked to keep information compartmentalized so that only she had the full picture of the system’s development.”

Departments at Theranos—chemists and engineers, for example—were discouraged from communicating. Secrecy is bad for the creative process, and the lack of information pass-through hobbled product development while extending the mistakes that led to the company’s downfall. 

“[Elizabeth] was so laser focused on achieving her goals that she seemed oblivious to the practical implications of her decisions.”

Intent on achieving her aims, Elizabeth neglects her health and that of her employees, pushing everyone relentlessly. At this rate, critical mistakes became inevitable, and, given Elizabeth’s iron determination to succeed, cover-ups weren’t out of the question.