😤 Elizabeth Holmes Gets 11 Years In Prison

This is The Level Ups. Modern business news for the future business leader (in plain-Jane English).

Today, we review a fraudster going to jail. Happy Monday!

• Elizabeth Holmes is sentenced to 11 years

• If you believe in “fake it till you make it” pay attention.

• Love is Blind but in your dating life.

Let’s get into it.

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Elizabeth Holmes Is Finally Going Behind Bars:

“They don’t put pretty people like me in jail.”

These were the words spoken by Elizabeth Holmes when she was warned about the risks of her lab tests producing the wrong results. This is Elizabeth:

Just awful.

If you don’t know who she is, here is a quick breakdown:

• Dropped out of Stanford to start Theranos.

• The company promised to diagnose diseases with only a few drops of blood using their Edison tests.

• In 2014, the company was valued at $9B.

• A year later she was exposed as a fake. It was all built on a lie.

She was convicted and sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.

Bet she wishes taking those warnings a bit more seriously. She told the world her tests could detect cancer, diabetes and more with a few drops of blood. It was all built around a lie and unravelled quickly.

There were severe consequences. People believed her, and the results included deeply unfortunate miscarriages and more.

Before that, there were warnings about bad labs from employees. Should have seen it coming.

Do you know how many people were subject to bad test results?

Nobody does. The original database was destroyed.

Her jail time is for defrauding investors, not for risks to the public with her fake tests.

Until the very end, she testified that she “never” misled investors.

This person is clearly a psychopath.

She should have gotten much more than 11 years. People with weed get that much jail time. This is so much worse.

Fake It Till You Make It Right

I’m all for a little bit of "fake it till you make it." Nicer clothes, cars, and a lifestyle to represent yourself a certain way is one thing.

A little bit of word-smithing or leaving out the “ugly” can’t hurt too much.

Frauding people is straight-up wrong.

Sometimes people get sucked in, and it goes too far.

This is the warning. I’m sure most of you know this, but Elizabeth is not normal. She is the far extreme of what can go wrong.

Sometimes even misrepresenting a few numbers can cost you. Just don’t let it go too far.

Speaking of fake it till you make it.

Love Is Blind (But In Your Dating Life):

This is a great transition into dating, especially online dating, where “fake it till you make it” seems normal.

But the Netflix show Love is Blind challenges this.

The summary: Netflix found people willing to marry someone they’d never seen in person.

I have a hard time buying shoes without trying them on first but ok.

The show was a wild success because it forced the people on it to get to know each other without seeing one another. They literally don’t see each other until agreeing to get married.

Part of the premise makes sense. Should looks matter? We all know they do, but should they when marriage is on the line? Looks fade, so maybe leaving looks for last is worth it.

It’s a tough one, but isn’t that what an “authentic connection” is about? Maybe.

Some new dating apps are betting it is.

Is This The Future Of Online Dating?

New app Blindlee (with the slogan “love is blind”) has entered the chat.

And you can’t see what anyone there looks like unless the lady agrees after texting and a 3-min blurred video call.

Two founders created it with $9,000 in savings who’ve collected thousands of users in their first year.

I can imagine excitement and disappointment looking at one another when the blurred screen gets real.

But maybe it’ll work. Call me a cynic, but I’d say it’s too soon to tell.

Perhaps the hype might lead to something real (for relationships and the founder's wallets).

S’More (short for something more) is another example. The slogan is “The more you chat, the more of them you see!” I don’t know how I feel about it.

But the premise makes sense. Connection first appearances later. Being “authentic” is growing in popularity, just look at BeReal.

Interesting concept for sure. More on this soon. I’m sure we’ll be hearing about it.

Thanks for reading!

Darwin