3. Your vision will never lead you to the wrong decision
Elizabeth was 19 when she dropped out of Stanford University to start Theranos. The dean at her chemical engineering school tried persuading her to complete her degree first, to which she replied, “Why? I know what I want to do.”
“The decision was not hard at all because there was no way I could make a greater difference with my life. When you find what you love, you do it. That’s it.”
4. Opportunity lives in every tragedy and fear
By the time Elizabeth’s uncle learnt he had cancer, it was too late to save him. The loss spurred her to find ways of developing a better method of early disease detection. Her fear of needles, meanwhile, led her to revolutionise phlebotomy.
“When I started Theranos someone said to me, define what is non-negotiable to you. What you are willing to fight for, die for and most importantly, live for. For me that is our mission – realising a change in a world and in an industry that has stagnated for decades, and resulted in so much loss and pain. A change that would mean that one day, people would not have to say goodbye too soon to those they love.”
5. Revenue and responsibility can go hand in hand
Not only does Theranos’ clearly list its affordable prices online but it also gives people access to their own results so they can have a better understanding of their health.
“I started Theranos because I believed that building a business is a vehicle for making a difference in the world. That you can do well by doing good.”
