Failure Was Always an Option for Elizabeth Holmes - WSJ.pdf

Failure Was Always an Option for Elizabeth Holmes - WSJ.pdf

As the Elizabeth Holmes trial for alleged fraud at her startup Theranos winds on, the biggest question is: When the company’s blood testing machines didn’t work, why didn’t she change tactics? Real entrepreneurs fail early and often. Ms. Holmes instead was stubborn and chose deception over failure. That’s a shame. Despite today’s IPO and SPAC fireworks, the truth is that in Silicon Valley most ideas fail. Heck, most companies fail. More than half of venture-capital investments are smoking holes in the ground. Fortunately, success often rises from the ashes of ruin.