Will Stanco, Theranos Presentation
One of the many things that has made my Leavey School of Business experience special is the number of opportunities offered to hear, meet, and interact with great presentations. During this past fall quarter, I was lucky enough to sit in on a presentation given by Tyler Shultz. Shultz has been made famous after he outed himself as the Theranos whistleblower. For those that do not know, Theranos was a biomedical company located here in Silicon Valley. Theranos had an estimated value of $9 billion at their height, after they claimed they could run various complex blood tests that were cheap and did not require a minimal amount of blood to be drawn. This technology would have been incredibly valuable if it was not based on lies.
In his presentation, Tyler Shultz gave his unique perspective on the issue as he was a Theranos employee, but also the one who outed the truth that the technology could not produce the results that were advertised to VC’s and lab testers. He discussed how he went about exposing the company and the moral dilemmas that he faced while working there. Shultz was fully aware of how poorly the testing was going at Theranos, and he risked many personal and family connections after going through with his decision.
I have found it very valuable to be afforded opportunities like these. Tyler Shultz’s presentation highlighted how competitive the Silicon Valley environment can be. Theranos was willing to base their entire company on a lie, all in the name of a profit. As Santa Clara University exposes their students to the realities of the business world, I believe that graduates from the Leavey School of Business will be well prepared for the challenges they face ahead.