Theranos' mission is to provide affordable and accessible healthcare through innovative technology, transitioning from reactive disease diagnosis to proactive early detection and prevention.
Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos based on personal experiences, leaving Stanford to fully pursue her passion for developing new healthcare testing systems and empowering consumer engagement with their own health data.
Theranos took an incremental, strategic approach - starting with pharmaceutical companies, obtaining early FDA approvals, and expanding to serve retail consumers with $2.99 tests - all while building towards its broader healthcare technology vision.
Elizabeth Holmes emphasized the importance of building a mission-driven, communicative culture, promoting from within, and persevering through challenges with a relentless passion for the company's purpose.
Meeting Notes:
Theranos' Mission and Vision
Providing affordable and accessible healthcare through technology
Make early detection and disease prevention a reality in healthcare
Empower individuals to engage with their own health information
Transition from a reactive disease diagnosis model to proactive early detection and prevention
The mission was driven by Elizabeth Holmes's personal experiences of losing loved ones, motivating her to change the healthcare paradigm
Theranos Founding and Early Days
Elizabeth Holmes was studying chemical engineering and electrical engineering at Stanford
Conducted research on handling tiny fluid volumes and sensor systems
Realized traditional diagnostic methods were outdated, driving her passion for the healthcare technology field
Elizabeth Holmes was obsessed with solving this problem of enabling early detection
Filed early patents around new concepts for healthcare testing systems as a freshman
Left Stanford after first quarter of sophomore year to fully focus on building Theranos and realizing her calling
Convinced parents to let her use the money saved for Stanford to start Theranos instead
Theranos' Product Strategy and Approach
Started by serving pharmaceutical companies as a lab for new drug testing and clinical trials
Allowed iterating on technology and generating revenue to build the company
Developed proprietary devices, software, chemistries and consumables for low-cost, automated testing
Enabled expanding to serve retail consumers directly for a $2.99 test price
Took incremental steps, applying sub-components of technology to different applications while building toward the broader mission
Navigating Regulations and Policy Changes
Worked extensively with governments and regulators like the FDA
Proactively sought FDA approvals for devices, tests and methodologies (first FDA approval in 2015)
Viewed regulation as critical for ensuring data integrity and enabling consumer access responsibly
Helped pass legislation in Arizona allowing individuals to directly access and pay for lab tests
Viewed as empowering consumers and driving better pricing through market dynamics
Lobbied for regulation to demonstrate integrity, believing unregulated companies making health claims were concerning
Building the Theranos Team and Culture
Focused on hiring passionate, mission-driven people over credentials when scaling rapidly
Looked for "fighters" with personal links to the healthcare mission
Prioritized promoting from within to maintain the culture as company grew
Supplemented with outside hires as needed for specific roles
Emphasis on real-time communication and open discussion of ideas/emotions
Held regular all-hands meetings to discuss challenges, celebrate wins
Flat organization structure, instilled values as vehicle for decision-making
Challenges and Personal Perspective
Elizabeth Holmes stayed focused on the mission despite public doubts and challenges
Viewed this as just "part of the innovation process" that should further unite the team
Expressed that loving what you do is key to persevering through difficulties
Theranos was her true calling that she would keep fighting for, no matter what
Emphasized finding your passion - what you'd do even without being paid
That drive helps you push through roadblocks when pursuing an ambitious mission