American Life

Chapter 205: Demons and monsters, filing for bankruptcy

"Elizabeth Holmes and her staff arrived in Chicago this afternoon."

After Sol left, Keira walked into the office.

"Do I need to make a dinner reservation?" Keira tried to ask according to Charlie's habit of entertaining guests.

"No need." Charlie shook his head, "Let the two of them come to the office later. They can completely discuss it here."

"Okay...Charlie." Kayla nodded, instead of calling Charlie "sir" or boss like before, she directly read Charlie's name.

In addition to finding out the identity of the person who spread the rumors, Charlie came to the company today mainly to discuss with the two founders of the company.

He had already read Baines' report at the end of the case, among which two companies were particularly worthy of attention. He entrusted Baines to convey his willingness to invest to the other party. The founders of the two companies readily agreed and immediately left for Chicago.

"Do you still need me, sir?" Kayla said suddenly nervously.

"No need for the moment." Charlie looked at her.

"Okay, I'll be right outside. If you need anything, please give me any instructions." Kayla nodded and added.

"Don't be so polite, it's not the first time we've met." Charlie shrugged.

Kayla laughed out loud: "I'm just your secretary, at least during working hours."

"Of course, I don't want to pay you overtime." Charlie responded with a smile.

"But you can pay for something else." Moment before opening the office door, Keira glanced at Charlie with a charming look.

About half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. A blond woman entered the office. She had prominent apple muscles and her blond hair was neatly styled. She was dressed in a traditional business suit, a black suit and trousers, with ankle boots. Covered in pure black socks, the whole body is wrapped tightly. It seems too conservative under normal circumstances, but in fact it is normal attire for formal business occasions.

Charlie can't help but think back to her a few years later, when she was known as the "female version of Jobs", "the woman who changed the world", "the youngest female billionaire", and her dress style was as stylized as Jobs. Wear that signature black lapel sweater every day.Obviously at this time, she will take this kind of COPY to the extreme.

Also following her in was a middle-aged man who looked like an Indian, with a big belly and meticulously combed hair.

"Welcome, please take a seat." Charlie stood up and shook hands with the two of them. Kayla also came in at this time and poured water for the two of them.

"This is Ramesh Balwani, the president and chief operating officer of Theranos," the woman explained as soon as she sat down.

Charlie nodded as a greeting.

"Let's make a long story short. The two of us are going to Washington soon to meet with relevant DOD personnel. They are very interested in the new generation of blood testing technology developed by Theranos. In fact, this is the destination of our trip. Since you She hopes to meet with me, but we have to change planes midway." She spoke quickly, barely blinking when speaking, looking directly at Charlie, with a natural pressure.

Charlie first asked about the current business situation of the company, including the blood tester named "Edison".

Theranos company mainly develops blood testing technology. It claims that it can detect 1 biological indicators in one minute with one percent of the sample quantity for routine testing. Elizabeth Holmes set the company's goal of "one drop of blood changes everything" slogan.

Silicon Valley invests in more than just network technology companies. In fact, it also has a complete set of financing channels for various cutting-edge biomedical technologies.

"It seems that you know us very well, which just saves me the troublesome introduction. You must know that many investors are ignorant of the relevant fields. I will never accept their investment, but you give me a different impression." She looked directly at Charlie.

At this time, the Indian-Pakistani Ramesh Balwani on the side said: "What is your expected bid?"

Charlie held his chin with one hand, ignored Ramesh's words, and met Elizabeth's eyes: "I have to remind you that this is only a short negotiation. I haven't decided to invest in you yet."

"Of course, in the face of cutting-edge technology that can change the entire field of medical technology, your hesitation is understandable. After all, there are not many opportunities to change the world. The year before last, Murdoch also raised concerns about this technology, just like you, but in After listening to my detailed introduction, he changed his mind and led the Series A round of financing. The same happened to Larry Ellison last year. He originally had a better opportunity, but because of a moment of hesitation, he ended up spending thousands more. Thousands of dollars of knives.”

"Larry Ellison? We just met at Apple's first board meeting."

"Yes, that's him. In addition, the famous investor Tim Draper is also a loyal supporter of my company, as well as two former GUOWU secretaries, both of whom are determined to join the Theranos board of directors." Elizabeth kept it all in mind. Said.

Look at the list behind this company. It is favored by so many big guys, and even DOD has shown interest. It is simply the best unicorn in Silicon Valley today.

"As I said before, I am not short of money or investors now. What you can bring to Theranos is the key. You have natural communication channels. I hope to have a relevant introduction to Theranos in the magazine. , more people should learn about this technology that completely subverts the industry." She said calmly.

It sounded like she was the investor instead and Charlie was just a door-to-door entrepreneur.

"I have done relevant research on technology. In fact, I am more curious about your personal experience. As far as I know, you already envisioned this technology when you were 19 years old, right?" Charlie showed his personal curiosity about her.

"Yes, when I was a freshman, I successfully convinced Channing Robertson, the dean of our school's engineering school, with my excellent grades, and he made an exception for me to join the doctoral laboratory as an assistant researcher."

"In 03, I entered Singapore with the medical team. Here I saw the backwardness of traditional blood testing technology. Centrifugation, antibody response, and bacterial blood culture often took several days to produce results. From then on, I decided to Change this backward situation."

"After returning to China, I left Stanford and used the savings I had saved to establish Theranos. Ramesh, who was beside me during the whole process, gave me a lot of help. The two of us decided to work together to overcome this difficulty. The results have been so good that we now have multiple patents and have made routine blood testing significantly earlier."

"If I remember correctly, you were only 03 years old in 19, right? At this time, your peers were still having parties and falling in love."

"Yes, but I never think that age is an obstacle to creating great things. Alexander began to build a great empire at the age of 16, Mary Shelley wrote "Frankenstein" when she was still alive, and Louis Braille was 15 Braille was invented when he was young, and Mozart began writing music scores independently at the age of eight.”

"So, if others can do it, why can't I?" she asked.

"You are so interesting." Charlie couldn't laugh or cry.

"Jobs once said that only those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world can truly change the world. I have been criticized, but I will never change my original intention." She clenched her fists and spoke forcefully.

Looking at her reaction, Charlie really couldn't tell whether she was pretending or whether she was really crazy.

When it comes to acting, even Robert Deloni has to give in. She is a born great actress.

"Enough, Elizabeth, scaring Mr. Charlie." Ramesh grabbed Elizabeth's wrist.

Charlie saw this action in his eyes and responded calmly: "But don't ignore it. Mary Shelley's parents were both heavyweight writers at the time. They have been influenced by it since she was a child. Mozart was born in a musical family. His great achievements are related to his age. It really has nothing to do with it, but comes from daily accumulation and hard work.”

"And what do you have? Ms. Elizabeth Holmes, your mother is a congressional employee, your father is a vice president of Enron, and this Mr. Ramesh beside you, even though he is almost years old, As your father, I am still helping you selflessly, what else do you have? You have nothing, you are just a Stanford graduate with no relevant technical background."

Charlie said with a smile.

"You treat us like monkeys in a zoo? You never thought about investing from the beginning." Elizabeth was furious and her eyes were splitting with anger.

"Of course I have thought about it, but after listening to a lot of your non-technical nonsense, I have changed my mind, both now and in the future." Charlie shook his head.

"Sorry, we have to leave." Ramesh looked tense and stood up.

"One day, you will feel regret, don't deny it." When leaving, Elizabeth gave Charlie a deep look.

"Of course I regret it. I regret not taking a photo of your expression at this moment, so that when you go to jail in the future, I can sell this ironic photo to the newspaper." Charlie waved to the two of them.

After the two people left angrily, Charlie sat back on his seat and whispered: "He is indeed a monster."

He had no intention of spending even a dime on this project from the beginning. He invited the two of them to Chicago just to see how good the creator of Silicon Valley's number one scam was.

That’s right, Theranos has never conducted any technological research and development from beginning to end. This is a complete scam.Elizabeth and her boyfriend knew all this from the beginning, but they continued to weave this story called "The Emperor's New Clothes", even deleting relevant data and deliberately falsifying it.

As a result, Charlie was greatly disappointed. Elizabeth's deception was not advanced at all, and was even full of loopholes.

The only thing worth mentioning is that she looks pretty good, in line with the public's expectations of a "tech boss", and her tone of voice and special demeanor can indeed confuse people.

But can’t those big bosses, former GUOWU ministers, and relevant DOD staff see it?

Charlie will not delve into this matter, it has nothing to do with him, and he will not ruin people and money.

To take a step back, there is no precedent for a "biological company" like Theranos. There was even a company that relied on bluffing and deception to successfully go public with a dime profit, and eventually became a giant in the biomedical field by acquiring other research projects.

If no reporter came forward to expose her in a few years, Elizabeth might have confirmed her identity as the "female version of Steve Jobs."

It's even possible that the reporter was instructed by someone?
Thinking about it carefully, Charlie realized at least one thing through this peek into the dark side of things. In the entertainment industry, he was just a younger brother in the investment field.

Kayla walked in at this time. Looking at the reaction of the two people when they left, she knew that the negotiation was completely over. Charlie told her the cause and effect, which surprised Kayla.

"I didn't expect it to be a complete scam. Having said that, a top student from Stanford and a middle-aged man of Indian and Pakistani descent...could it be just to start a business? She is really willing to go all out." Thinking back to Ramesh's unattractive face , Keira sighed.

Compared with the details, as a woman of Elizabeth's age, she is obviously more curious about emotional private matters.In such a comparison, she felt how much luckier than Elizabeth was, and the little bit of shame left in her consciousness disappeared immediately.

She silently walked around the table, came to Charlie, and took the initiative to hold Charlie's hand.

Charlie asked her to sit down, unbutton her shirt, and explore the secret.

"Oh" Kayla closed her eyes and bit her lower lip.

Finally, he grabbed Charlie's wrist.

"You still have guests, and I don't want to make a fool of myself." She said with a cute smile.

'You were the one who took the initiative to approach me just now, and you said these things again. You are really a little goblin. '

"Then let him change the time. He is still a senior anyway, so I'll give him some face." Charlie smirked.

"Don't...you bully others." Keira whimpered.

When Elon Musk knocked on the door of the room, it took more than half a minute for the door to open.

The person sitting on the boss's chair with disheveled hair was a buttoned-up young girl. Elon Musk twitched his eyebrows and looked at Charlie in front of him: "Didn't I bother you?"

"Actually, you did disturb me." Charlie narrowed his eyes and then smiled.

"But I still welcome your arrival."

"You don't need to welcome me. In fact, I can come in later." Musk joked.

The two embraced passionately.

When Kayla left, Charlie silently pinched her waist.

Kayla quickly knocked off Charlie's hand and looked back at Charlie angrily.

After all the fun, it was time to get down to business, and Musk entered the office.

"Elizabeth Holmes was talking to me just now," Charlie said.

"You won't...promise her?" Musk was slightly surprised.

"What do you think?"

"I don't think you will. If your money comes out of your pocket so easily, I won't come all the way here and kneel down to ask for your help."

"Sounds like you have a big problem?"