From atop a 700-acre hill in Silicon Valley, two heads have rolled. Specifically, Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the co-conspirators behind the once-lauded blood-testing tech brand, Theranos.
Early this year, Ms. Holmes was found guilty of federal fraud, and Mr. Balwani is currently mid-trial. They’re both in a heap of trouble for deceiving and lying to investors—and the world—about Theranos’ capabilities to raise a small fortune for a brand that was more performance art than performing.
And the cost of this deceit? Over $700 million in investment dollars, health scares including false positives for cancer and STDs, the tragic suicide of Theranos’ Chief Scientist Ian Gibbons, and a fall from grace so rich in controversy it’s now entertainment (and streaming on Hulu). What’s more? An extreme twisting of design and branding reality, like a snake coiled around a stick.
