Inside Theranos with ex-Employee Tyler Shultz
Tyler Shultz, an early Theranos whistleblower and grandson of board member George Shultz, tells Y Combinator's hosts how he spotted the fraud, survived months of legal threats, and what employees and founders should learn.
The gist
-
Shultz says a Theranos syphilis test caught only 65%, then 80%, of known positives, while over 20% of tested colleagues falsely came back positive.
-
He says Elizabeth Holmes built a culture of fear over 11 years by firing and suing dissenters, so staff who saw problems stayed silent.
-
After he became a source for the reporting told in Bad Blood, Theranos lawyers ambushed him at his grandfather's house, but he refused to sign.
-
During the legal fight, which cost $400,000 to $500,000, he blocked every phone number and talked to friends only on Snapchat.
-
Shultz urges people to use protected channels like the SEC program, which pays 10 to 30% of recoveries and draws free contingency lawyers.
Y Combinator recommends it
"His story is incredible and it's covered in the book Bad Blood by the Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou, who first broke the story... which is an amazing book and I highly recommend it."
▶ Play at 0:49"Really the only way you could communicate with me was over Snapchat. And I liked that for two reasons. One, the messages disappear, which was great... But really the main reason was that there are types of conversations that people will have with you over the phone or over tex..."
▶ Play at 2:24:496 creators recommend it, including GaryVee, Jason Calacanis, and Maddox Schmidtoffer.
See all on the Snapchat page"One tool that I wish I had known about at the time was protected government whistleblowing channels, of which there are many. The SEC has a great one... I specifically want to highlight the SEC because with their program, the whistleblower is able to recover 10 to 30% of what ..."
▶ Play at 2:48:52What they recommend · 3 picks
"One tool that I wish I had known about at the time was protected government whistleblowing channels, of which there are many. The SEC has a great one... I specifically want to h..."
"His story is incredible and it's covered in the book Bad Blood by the Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou, who first broke the story... which is an amazing book and I hi..."
"Really the only way you could communicate with me was over Snapchat. And I liked that for two reasons. One, the messages disappear, which was great... But really the main reason..."
Y, Riley, Greg and Peter agree on 38 things
See what they all use, in their own words. Paid ads are left out.
See what they all swear by Or pick your own peopleTyler Shultz
2 picks · guest
"One tool that I wish I had known about at the time was protected government whistleblowing channels, of which there are many. The SEC has a great one... I specifically want to h..."
"Really the only way you could communicate with me was over Snapchat. And I liked that for two reasons. One, the messages disappear, which was great... But really the main reason..."
Y Combinator
1 pick · host
"His story is incredible and it's covered in the book Bad Blood by the Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou, who first broke the story... which is an amazing book and I hi..."
Also mentioned
Related episodes
Episodes covering similar topics
More from Y Combinator